


Persona: Gnosis

by Sraosha



Category: Persona Series
Genre: Gen, Mystery, Psychological Drama, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-17 12:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 238,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11851575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sraosha/pseuds/Sraosha
Summary: Shinshuto City, for nearly twenty years, has rapidly grown, and has become known across Japan as a place of new opportunities. People from all over the country are coming to visit, and one girl from Yokohama, the mysterious yet kind Kei Kakusa, has come to study. Yet, her arrival coincides with the emergence of the sinister Bythos, a group that aims to cause massive unrest from behind the scenes. Kei, alongside her friends Shintaro Nakahara, Kohaku Teruya and others, will gain the power of 'Persona' via strange smartphones called 'Gnosis'. With this potentially world-changing power, they battle Bythos and their leader, the enigmatic Nisa Liat. Yet it seems Nisa and Kei share the gift of the Wild Card...





	1. Spring Days

**真** **·** **女神転生**

**SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI**

**Persona: Gnosis**

**Prologue: The First Test**

* * *

_Flowing through the sea of information, t_ _he sons of man built a new paradise._

 _Weary of struggle, all man yearns for i_ _s bliss, without any pain to invade their peace._

 _Yet these sons of mankind, their minds have no bounds w_ _hen the world's information lies at their fingertips._

 _They pursue knowledge of many kinds, never satiated._ _And there are many who would use that disaffection..._

_To cause pain, enough to end bliss and peace for an eternity._

_They will justify this pain as 'waking the world up', i_ _gnoring the true devastation of their methods._

_Yet they have acquired evil means to carry out their aims..._

_You who can hear my call..._

_The true knowledge you need to survive i_ _s not within the reach of modern technology._

 _Nor is it within the annals of history,_ _etched onto ancient paper._

 _Rather, the truth of your own psyche._ _The full limits of your heart and mind._

 _That, one of a strong will, is called_ _Gnosis._

 _It will begin soon._ _And it all begins with one step._

 _Here, in the world of the unconscious, d_ _o you still remember your own name?_

* * *

**|April 10th 2017|Shinshuto City, Totsuka – Nakahara Household|3:21 am|**

It was in the middle of the night, a time where most of the country was fast asleep. Yet one boy, in a quiet, opulent suburban home had been rudely awakening by the sound of a vibrating phone, sitting atop a stack of oft-read books. Irritated, he grabbed it from his bedside table, and saw his tired reflection in the phone screen. His black hair was shoulder length, and somewhat feminine, yet his eyes bore the wisdom of a future scholar.

_I thought I set this stupid thing to not vibrate. What is it now? I need my sleep._

He looked, and saw a new text message. However, the name and number of the sender was completely hidden. Initially, he dismissed it as a spam message, but curiosity overtook him. He opened the message, and grabbed his black-rimmed glasses so he could read it.

**Shintaro Nakahara. If you can read this, we'll meet again soon enough. You, me, and everyone else. I swear I'll solve everything for you all this time.**

"...What?" He muttered quietly. Shintaro enjoyed a good mystery novel, he had an entire shelf devoted to such tomes above his computer desk. His room perhaps had more books than the used book store around the corner. But this didn't make sense. Meet 'again', the message sent. They knew his full name. And 'everyone else'.

_Who the hell sent this? Kohaku? It's not like I have a lot of other friends besides her..._

He considered whether to reply or not. If they withheld their number, no message could possibly be sent. Yet, it wasn't like he would lose anything by replying. So, still groggy from a lack of sleep, he managed to send a reply.

**Who are you?**

Strangely, his phone was able to send the message. Shintaro waited a few seconds, seeing if anything at all would happen. Yet nothing happened. Annoyed, he put his phone back on top of the books, and slowly went back to sleep...

**|Kansei High School, Classroom 2-1|8:15 am|**

Kansei was the oldest high school in this city, and held joint-first place with the Chieki Academy. Surrounded by nine huge skyscrapers in an area called the 'Divine Nine Crossing', the school had recently been completely refurbished on the inside. Most classrooms had pale blue walls and light wooden floors, complete with sleek, stylish desks. The windows gave view to the surrounding buildings, one of which was a massive insurance company's Japanese branch, the other a prestigious computer software company, and the other a law firm.

A girl sat at one of the desks, sweeping back her long brown hair, the tips of which she had recently dyed orange. She had only done it on a whim, but she liked the way it complemented her orange blazer – different from the purple most of the other students wore. She took a look at one of the papers in her bag, which contained some complicated sheet music.

"Oh hey Kohaku, your hair!" A shorter girl said. "It looks so cool!"

"Thanks, Akari-chan!" Kohaku Teruya said, blushing. Akari Ito was one of Kohaku's best friends from school last year, and it was a relief that they were in the same class this year as well. "I like what you've done with yours too!"

"Oh...thanks!" Akari said, embarassed. Her hair was a short bob cut, it having been slightly longer during her first year. She had added two pink horizontal bar hair clips to complete the look. Akari sat in the desk behind her, which was at the back of the class. "So, what's new? Your parents still major workaholics?"

"You bet. I barely saw them during spring break. Remind me never to get a job in politics." Kohaku said, sadly. "We were going to go somewhere, but then all kinds of work got piled on."

"That's annoying. My parents took us to Nara. Those deer were so cute! I got to feed a whole family of them!" Akari said, happily. "Did you and Shintaro-san hang out?"

"Yeah. The usual..." Kohaku said, smiling, thinking back on her and her best friend's Spring Break. Always the bookworm, he kept telling her about all the new books and authors he had discovered. At the same time, she kept giving him new CDs to listen to, or dragging him to the karaoke bar so she could hone her vocal cords – and mock his tone-deaf efforts.

"Oh, there he is!" Akari said, pointing at the door. Kohaku waved him over, but as he approached, she looked concerned. He wasn't usually this tired when he came to school – his blazer was crumpled, and his tie was loose.

"Morning, Haku-chan...hey, Akari-san..." Shintaro said, yawning.

"H-Hey..." Kohaku said. "What's up? You read through the Millennium Trilogy again?"

"Nah, just couldn't sleep...my phone went off during the night." Shintaro said, now looking worried.

"Really? You didn't put it on silent?" Kohaku asked.

"I did. I double checked it, but it was definitely set to not make a sound, or even vibrate. Yet at 3 in the morning, my phone is buzzing, and..."

While Akari got distracted by another student, Shintaro showed Kohaku the weird message he was sent this morning. Disturbed, Kohaku's eyes widened.

"They know your name? Who do you think sent this?" Kohaku asked. "You don't have any enemies from middle school or anything, do you?"

"No way. You're the only one from middle school I even talk to. But this makes no sense!

It's not like one of those stupid scams, like I've been in an accident that apparently happened five years ago or something." Shintaro said. "I didn't tell mom or dad. I want to think it's just a prank, but..."

"Calm down, Taro-kun. There's no point worrying about it for now. It's not like it's a death threat or anything, right? If you get anymore, just ignore them." Kohaku said. "It might have been someone at school. Like a secret admirer. I can always try and listen in on the gossip later."

"A secret admirer? Would they really send such a creepy message?" Shintaro asked. "Oh, I just had a thought. Maybe it's to do with those Bythos weirdos."

"Bythos? Those total psychos? Everyone's been going on about them. Lots of government criticism on their website, but they're so vague about everything. I dunno why they're getting so much buzz." Kohaku asked. "I did find one of their leaflets outside when I was getting off my bicycle...here. It's kinda creepy..." She pulled the leaflet out from her pocket, and Shintaro took a closer look.

****WISE UP** **

****For too long, Shinshuto's City Council has hidden the true depths of their corruption. They have trapped us all in a despicable, ugly world. One you have been conditioned to believe is Paradise!** **

****They can hide behind their success stories, their new developments, but they only wish to satisfy themselves!** **

****Yes, you must all open your eyes! They believe themselves to be the true power of Japan! Someday soon, they will conquer the Land of the Rising Sun, and from there, the world!** **

****Do not give in to such tyranny, friends! Join us! For the sake of a better, brighter tomorrow, we must do what is necessary!** **

****B.Y.T.H.O.S - Bright Years for The Honest Ones of Shinsuto - shall become the new hope of the world.** **

"That's one aggressive marketing campaign." Shintaro said. "Since when were the city council after world domination?"

"You always get anti-establishment creeps in places like this." Kohaku said. "I mean, look how much Shinshuto City is in the news. The schools are out-performing most in the country. Tourists are swarming in to see the sights. They're building artificial resort islands in Ginumi...and that place is gaudy enough as it is!"

"Hmm. So you think these Bythos guys hate all the new construction? What's so bad about this city's prosperity? Look at all the money that's coming in. Before they designated this place a city, hardly anyone knew this place existed."

"I just hope these Bythos guys don't do anything crazy..." Kohaku said, worried. "Everything's going so well for the city these days. I don't want it to go to hell."

"Relax. As long as we're together, we'll be fine." Shintaro said.

"...If you keep saying those things out loud, people will start to get the wrong idea." Kohaku said, smirking.

"Wrong idea about what?" Akari asked, curious.

"It's nothing. Just school rumours, the usual." Shintaro said. He looked at the door, and saw a woman approach. His face lit up as soon as he saw who it was. "Ah, it's her!"

The door swung upon, and there was a beautiful teacher – at least, in Shintaro's eyes – with long black curly hair and a pink blouse and white skirt, she was known for her elegance and her kind, motherly approach to her students.

"Your favourite teacher, huh?" Kohaku said, playfully nudging Shintaro with her elbow.

"Oh yeah. I was hoping we'd get Suzuki-sensei again!"

"Too bad she's married...a student-teacher romance would be huge news for Kansei." Kohaku said, grinning.

"Oh, come on! As if I'd go after a married woman!" Shintaro said. "It's not like I'd have much luck, anyway. Remember Kaori from last year?"

Kohaku sighed. "You turned your entire date with her into a character study of Macbeth. Not the happiest of plays to discuss over coffee and curry, you know."

"But...I thought we had a lot in common." Shintaro said, bitterly.

"Well, maybe better luck this year." Kohaku said. "I'll be your wing woman, of course. That is a thing, right?"

"Alright, settle down, everybody!" Suzuki said. "Welcome back to school, everyone. Looks like most of you were in my class last year. But to those new to my class, my name is Michiko Suzuki." She wrote the name down on the electric whiteboard, the school's new approach for modern-teaching.

"I was worried we'd end up with that toothless old guy..." Akari said quietly.

"As you can see, this school's gone through quite a few changes since last year. But don't forget that you're here to learn. To grow, to change, and to always improve yourselves. That much will never change, as long as you're here. As your teacher, of course, I'll always be here to support you."

_She always likes giving these speeches. Just like last year. Wow, we are so lucky to stay in her class!_

"Before I go any further, I'd like to introduce a new student." Suzuki said. Shintaro gasped. He had been so distracted by his new teacher that he hadn't even noticed there was a girl in uniform standing right next to her. Yet this girl was something else.

"Huh..." Kohaku said, staring at this new girl. "Wonder where she's from?"

She was nothing like anyone he had ever seen before. Short teal hair in a bob cut, with a blue and silver hairpin resembling a pair of scissors. Her eyes twinkled when she stared at her new classmates, revealing their bright blue hue. While she wore the uniform without customising it, like Kohaku often did, she seemed to have a blue sleeve under her shirt, on her left arm.

_Huh...she's pretty. Maybe Kohaku was right about better luck this year. She looks kind of sullen, though._

"My name is Kei. Kei Kakusa." The new student bowed politely to everyone, yet kept her stoic expression. "It's a pleasure to meet you all." Her eyes moved towards Shintaro, who froze on the spot.

"Is she looking at us?" Kohaku asked quietly.

"I dunno..." Shintaro whispered.

"I'm from Yokohama. I transferred here for the school year." Kei said. "I'm looking forward to making some good friends here."

"Thank you, Kakusa-san." Suzuki said, smiling. "Now then, we'll need to find you a seat. There's only a couple to choose from..."

"I'd like to take that seat, Suzuki-sensei. Is that alright?" Kei asked politely, pointing to the desk behind Shintaro and Kohaku.

"That's fine!" Suzuki said. Kei walked over with her dark purple bag, and sat next to Akari.

"H-H-Hi!" Akari said, embarassed. "I'm...uh...Akari!"

"Hello." Kei said. "...Are you okay?"

"She's always like this when meeting someone new." Kohaku said. "Like when we first met, and I asked her if she had a spare pencil, and she froze for like two minutes..."

"Ah." Kei said. "No need to worry. I don't bite."

"I'm Kohaku, by the way. Kohaku Teruya." Kei and Kohaku shook hands. "And this is Shintaro!"

"Hi!" Shintaro said, smiling. "Welcome to Shinshuto City!"

"...Thanks." Kei said, with a faint smile. "It's a very welcoming place, no matter where I go. I'm looking forward to this year."

****LATER** **

"Okay, that's it for today. Your normal lectures will start properly tomorrow." Suzuki said. "Just so you all know, our new practice building and gym mean there will be a lot more clubs to sign up for."

"There's only one club for me." Shintaro said, as the school day finished.

"...Which club?" Akari said, in all seriousness.

_Quick on the uptake as usual._

"Books, Akari. You know, Shintaro practically inhales them, the amount he reads in a week." Kohaku said, amused.

"What can I say? I love reading." Shintaro said, eagerly. "There's always something new to read. Like, just the other day, I bought a full collection of Stephen King books, and then there was a Victor Hugo set my mother bought me."

"You seem like a perfect student, Shintaro-san." Kei said, slightly amused.

"Well...I guess, but Kohaku got the better grades last year. Top of the class, as usual." Shintaro said.

"Stop it!" Kohaku said, embarrassed. "Me and Shintaro always come out on top when we study together."

"I see...I may have to join your study sessions, then." Kei said. "What clubs are you joining, Akari-san?" she asked, politely.

"Um...I think there's going to be a pet club of some kind. I really wanna be a vet after school, so I'm gonna join it if I can!" Akari said.

"Kohaku plays the flute. She'll be in the school band." Shintaro said. "How expensive was your flute, anyway? The really nice silver one?"

"¥98000." Kohaku said.

"That's...a lot." Kei said, impressed.

"I know, I know. My parents work with the government. They get a lot of bonuses." Kohaku said. "What with the city's huge growth the past couple of years."

Kei nodded. "Yes, of course. This city's certainly made a name for itself. Before the late 90's, this was just a rural community, right?"

"More or less. There was barely any kind of infrastructure." Shintaro said. "Then all of a sudden, the country decided they wanted to build a new model city. Totsuka was the first step. The heart of the city, starting with the Divine Nine Pillars."

"Ah, I heard that. It's so strange, being right in the centre of it all. This school existed long before all of that, too." Kei said.

"They're not that divine if you ask me. Just a bunch of boring companies you need like a hundred degrees to work for." Akari said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not sure about one hundred..." Kei said, laughing awkwardly. "Well, it's been nice meeting you, but I should be getting back to my school dorm -"

"Oh, are you sure?" Shintaro asked. "We could show you around the city first. There's a lot of places you should see, like -"

"The cat cafe down the road!" Akari said, positively beaming. "Please? I wanna see Mocha again!"

"...Maybe another time." Kei said, politely. "Actually, I did read up on one place that looked like fun. The Bella Donna Shopping Centre. Would you like to come with me?

"Oh, sure! I love that place!" Kohaku said, excitedly. "There's a great music store, and for Shintaro, a huge book shop, and there's one of those toys you can build your own stuffed animal -"

"Really?!" Akari said, gleefully. "I never knew that! Let's go  _now_!"

"I think there's a good pizza restaurant on the top floor as well." Kei said, cheerfully. "I'd like to treat you all to dinner, if that's alright. My way of saying thank you."

"That's very kind, but shouldn't it be us treating you?" Kohaku asked.

"Not at all." Kei said. "How do we get to Bella Donna from here?"

"There should be a bus...hold on." Kohaku said. She pulled out her smartphone, protected by a leather orange case with a musical note charm, and searched for the bus stop. "Nine minutes to the next bus. Let's get going!"

"Okay!" Shintaro said. The four of them left the classroom, with the rest of the students staring at Kei in wonder.

"Three girls...?!" One male student said. "How does that bookworm do it?"

"I dunno. Maybe we ought to hit the library more." Said another student.

 **Kansei High School – Entrance Path** ****|3:45 pm|** **

Before long, they were out in front of the grand entrance, surrounded by cheery blossom trees on either side, and a grand foundation in the centre of the main path. Upon this fountain were statues of mermaids, the favourite mythical creature of the principal. The sun was shining overhead, and pigeons were flying from tree to tree. There was a slight breeze, and thus blossoms were falling to the ground, creating the idyllic image of spring.

"Just like always." Kei said, gazing wistfully as the blossoms fell at her feet.

"What do you mean?" Shintaro asked.

"Duh! Spring, dummy!" Akari said. "It's always beautiful here at this time of year. My big brother told me all about it when he was here."

"The one at college?" Kohaku asked.

"Yeah! He said the blossoms were the perfect complement to a first date." Akari said.

"Hmm. Perhaps that's something I can look forward to." Kei said. "...Maybe not. After all, I'll have to go home after this school year is over."

"Better not break too many hearts, then." Kohaku teased. Kei and Akari laughed, while Shintaro smiled in silence. The group made their way to the bus stop, and their bus, the No. 29, was due shortly.

"So, where about in the city is your dormitory?" Shintaro asked.

"Asakita." Kei answered, looking deep in Shintaro's eyes. He shivered slightly, but kept quiet.

"Oh, I love Asakita!" Akari said, joyously. "That's where the park with the big ferris wheel is! And there's some cute squirrels there at this time of year!"

The red bus arrived, sporting dark wooden floors and comfy beige seats. The group boarded it, managing to get seats nearer the back. As the bus departed, they watched the school vanish in the distance.

"I dunno about you guys, but I think this is going to be one great year!" Akari said.

"You always say that, Akari-chan. But you know what? I think you might be right!" Kohaku said.

"I hope so." Kei said, staring at the city in front of her. It was as if she was trying to memorise every single detail. She noticed Shintaro staring at her, and blushed. "I'm fine. This city is just all new to me still."

"Hey, that's what we're here for. Right?" Shintaro said.

"Of course. I'm counting on you." Kei said, with a faint smile.

_The city's changing so much, so quickly. I just hope this Kei girl can cope with everything. Me and Kohaku are going to have to keep an eye on her. And Akari, if she starts running after a stray kitten again._

The bus made its way through the streets, approaching its destination. Yet there would be more than shopping and dining happening here today.

More than Shintaro had imagined.


	2. Symptoms of Disaster

**|Totsuka – Bella Donna|4:11 pm|**

Totsuka was normally known as a high-profile business district, full of corporations dotting the skyline with their towers, but it had plenty of other notable characteristics. For example, near the south end was the Shinsuto Government Tower, a brilliantly tall bronze-coloured heart of the city. Every hour of the day, officials were walking in and out, and the building's blue lights shone in the night sky.

The youth of the area, such as Shintaro and friends, had just arrived at the sprawling shopping area, known as the Bella Donna. The place was named after the beautiful golden statue in the centre of the main square, which was of a beautiful woman, clothed in a gorgeous gown and carrying four shopping bags. The owners of the land had hired Italian architects and designers, to create an exotic and memorable experience.

The elaborate red and black marble floors, the silver elevators going up and door all three floors, the myriad of artwork and statues made it feel more like a museum than an outdoor shopping mall. The restaurants and snack stores were mostly spread out on the first two floors, while clothes, electronics, furniture, and everything else was being purchased everywhere Shintaro looked.

"Check it out, they've got a RainBow!" Kohaku said, pointing excitedly to the expansive candy store on the ground floor. The logo and the interior decorating was full of rainbow colouring, and there was a rather cheery lady dressed in a rainbow maid outfit handing out free samples of green-tea flavoured chocolate.

"Thank you for coming to RainBow, where we bring colour to your smiles and your tummies!" The maid said, slightly drowned out by the bubblegum pop song blaring in the background. "Would you like to try some of our new spring treats?"

"Of course!" Akari said, taking a sample. "Oh wow, this is good!"

Shintaro tasted one of the sweets, and smiled. "These  _are_  good. I'm gonna get some of these, my mum loves green tea stuff. So do I, but..."

"Aww, you're so sweet. You're always getting gifts for her." Kohaku said, smirking. "I'd get something for my mother, but she gets back late most nights anyway, so..."

"It'd still be a nice gesture, right?" Kei asked, while looking at a bag of Viennese Truffles.

"The red bean candy would be perfect! I think..." The maid said.

"Oh, I love those!" Kohaku said. "Okay, that settles it, I'm gonna get her something."

After a short period of browsing – and tasting the samples – the four had picked out various sweets and chocolates, and paid for them. Akari had picked out some nice raspberry flavour treats, and offered the others some.

"Thanks, Akari-chan. But I'm going to need to go on a diet after all of this..." Kohaku said.

"I hate dieting..." Shintaro said.

"Really? You look pretty rake thin to me..." Akari said, clearly a master of tact.

"I don't know about rake thin, Akari-san." Kei said, chuckling.

"I used to be a chubby kid throughout middle school. Got a lot of teasing for it. So my dad put me on a diet, and here I am. Now people tease me for being skinny instead..." Shintaro said.

"Really? You're quite handsome, if you don't mind me saying so." Kei said.

"Wow, don't hold back or anything!" Akari said, grinning mischievously.

Shintaro went red in the face, scratching his head. "Well, I like the way I look now compared to back then. Forget the past. It's the future that's important."

"Forget the past...hmm..." Kei said, somewhat sombre.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Shintaro asked.

"No, not at all." Kei said, composing herself. "Let's...look around."

****|Book Wyrm|16:35 pm|** **

The group had explored various stores on the ground floor, and admired many different goods – such as decorative carved candles (a craft that had originated in Germany), a pet store with many cute guinea pigs (Akari already had two back home, Shiro and Kuro, but took at least ten pictures of each one), a jeweler's, and much to Shintaro's delight, a book store. There he was in the back of Book Wyrm, which had a huge section devoted to manga of all genres.

"I need to read more manga. They're actually quite entertaining." Kei said, admiring some of the shonen titles. Akari, the more feminine of the girls, was more interested in the shoujo material.

"You got a lot of manga back home?" Shintaro asked.

"A few books, yes. Wish I'd taken some of them with me..." Kei said. "Too late now, right?"

"How far is Yokohama from here?" Kohaku asked. "I'd love to see it some day."

"At least four hours via train. It's a tiring journey..." Kei said, sadly.

"Sounds fun!" Akari said, having chosen a few manga volumes. "Train journeys are great if you're with friends."

"...I suppose you're right." Kei said, smiling. "These look interesting."

"I know, right? Way better than the boring stuff Shintaro reads!" Akari said, master of tact once again.

"Oh, come on! My taste in literature isn't that bad! Just last week I read the entire series of books on marine life in the Japanese islands. You'd be amazed what you can learn about sea slugs." Shintaro said.

"They are kinda cute..." Kohaku said, blushing. "Anyway, how about we look at that computer shop here? Digital Domain, I think it's called?"

"That'd be nice. My phone's always running out of battery, so I might just get a new model..." Kei said.

After Kohaku dragged Shintaro away from an 'invigorating' book on the Phoenicians, the four of them left the store, and walked across the red stone floor to the staircase, flanked on either side by two elevators. However, while they began to climb the steps, Shintaro and Kei noticed someone standing in front of the steps. A tall young lady, wearing a outfit that certainly didn't match any school's.

__Huh? Is she looking at us?_ _

Her ebony hair seemed to be gleaming in the many yellow lights around and above them, and her piercing black eyes seemed to be staring straight through the shoppers passing by. Her lips, coated with blood red, curled up into a smile. For some reason, she was wearing black long gloves with orange ribbons around the sleeves, a short dark dress with silver lining, a silk red scarf that billowed in the wind, and high black boots, with red stripes and heels on them.

_Wait...no one else is looking at her. With those clothes, she'd stand out a nautical mile, but only me and Kei seem to be looking at her. Can't anyone else see her?_

The lady seemed to laugh, sweeping her long black locks from her face, and looked at Shintaro and his party. She quickly shook her head, and walked away with a rather arrogant-looking swagger – it was only then that Shintaro noticed something. She was carrying a large black box in her right hand.

"What are you two staring at?" Kohaku asked, confused.

Kei was quiet, her lips trembling. "Um...nothing in particular, just...impressed with the size of this building."

She began to climb the stairs. Concerned, Shintaro followed her. As he did, he couldn't see any sign of the raven-haired lady above, only regular shoppers. It was as if normality had been 'switched off', and someone had switched it back on. Kei didn't comment on this strange sight. Instead, she matched to the Digital Domain – almost as if she knew where to find it.

_Wonder if this has anything to do with that weird text from this morning?_

****|Digital Domain|16:46 pm|** **

"Wow." Akari said, intrigued by a pink laptop. "This looks kinda cute. Wish I could afford it. So much better than the old machine my dad's using..."

"Old computers are so ugly." Shintaro said. "That off-white colouring, the big CRT monitors, floppy drives, crap like that...ugh. Thank god for modern technology."

"When did you ever have a computer like that?" Kohaku asked.

"I...I don't remember." Shintaro said, trying to remember. "I'm sure we did, though..."

"Still, it's quite fascinating how technology has changed. Now we have the power to search through the world's knowledge with a tiny little box." Kei said. She began to walk over to the smartphones, and glanced at them. Yet she didn't seem to be reading any of their specs, or trying out any of them. Whether they were Android or iPhones, she just didn't seem enthusiastic about a single one.

"What's the matter, Kei-san?" Shintaro asked. "Was there a model you were looking for?"

"Not really. I simply can't decide. There's a lot to choose from..." Kei said.

"How about some of the ones in the second hand display? Could be some good deals there!" Kohaku said, pointing to the glass case. Kei immediately looked over to her, and went to the case. There, sitting on the top shelf, was a black cardboard box with a red lid, and there was only one piece of white text – reading  **Gnosis**. Displayed on the box, of course, was the phone itself, a work of electronic beauty. Sleek, thin, huge screen, yet with an air of mystique.

"Second-hand?" Akari said. "Wouldn't a newer one be more reliable? You don't want to end up with one loaded with trashy adult videos. Happened to me once...gave me nightmares involving car washes for a week."

"No..." Kei said, determined. "I've made up my mind. I want to take this one."

"How come?" Shintaro asked, curious.

"Intuition." Kei said. "The same intuition that brought me here."

"I know what you mean! Us girls always know best, don't we?" Akari said, with a sneaky smile.

Kei quickly paid for the Gnosis, an expensive purchase, but she seemed to have no qualms about the cost. With that, she put it in her now-full bag, and the group left. There seemed to be no more sign of the black-haired woman, thus Kei relaxed, and began heading up to the food court, on the third floor – an open-air eating area full of different restaurants.

"Oh, you want to have dinner here too?" Shintaro asked.

"It's not like my parents can make me a meal in this city." Kei said. "And none of my relatives live here, either. So it's either eat here, or have a microwave meal at my dormitory."

"I see. How about we eat here too?" Kohaku said. "My parents will be working late tonight, anyway."

"I'm up for that too!" Shintaro said. "It'll give my dad a break from cooking."

"Pizza is the best!" Akari said. "I'll have all the toppings they've got!"

The four of them entered the large food court, and found their table.

****|Bella Donna – Golden Dining Theatre|17:11 pm|** **

Somehow, the developers here had managed to keep this place affordable, yet glitzy, without falling into sheer tackiness. Shintaro and the girls were eating a pizza each, a rather thin and crispy one. The beautiful aroma, the lashings of tomato sauce and cheese, the perfectly baked base, all combined to make marvellous taste ecstasy.

"That was amazing." Kohaku said. "I just hope it doesn't put too many pounds on."

"Oh, come off it. You're the best looking girl in class." Shintaro said. "Although, Kei's not doing so bad herself in that department..."

Kei raised her eyebrow, but shrugged it off. Akari looked up expectantly, but no compliment seemed to be forthcoming, so she sighed and looked away. After their plates were taken away, she took out the box containing her Gnosis. Even though she didn't have access to an electrical outlet, she seemed to want to test it out anyway. She opened the box, and removed the phone – ignoring the micro USB charger cable and adapter.

"Can't wait until you get home, can you?" Kohaku asked, amused. "I just hope it works.."

"Actually, Haku-chan, it doesn't look like it's ever been used." Akari said, looking at the spotless screen and back cover. Kei, not listening, switched it on – and after the brief green Gnosis screen, she was soon on the home screen.

"Hmm. This looks like a custom OS to me." Kei said, confused. "I wonder who had this before me?"

"Who knows? I dunno why they'd never use it. It's better than the one I've got." Shintaro said, staring at his somewhat aged white phone.

"And mine, now that I think about it. Hey, what's this?" Kohaku said, noticing something in the centre of the round table. It was a blue circle, but it seemed to have a QR code on it. Shintaro blinked – he had never noticed that until now. What it was for, he had no idea. He tried to scan it with his phone, but despite Kei's frightened eyes, he only got an error.

"Huh...maybe it's not picking it up properly." Shintaro said, shrugging. "Or perhaps it's just a promotional stunt to advertise some new meal deal. I dunno."

"Looks kinda creepy to me. Uh, be right back!" Akari said, rushing off to the bathroom.

"Let me try. This camera's supposed to be 14 megapixels. It won't fail." Kei said, holding up her Gnosis phone over the code. Her screen turned bright blue, and a dim blue light lit up on the north side of the machine.

"What's going on?" Kohaku asked. Text appeared on screen, and the letters seemed to be in stereoscopic 3D. Shintaro took a closer look, and stared at it in confusion.

****Welcome to Gnosis.** **

****The time has come to test how far you are willing to go.** **

****To reach insight into the world, your friends, and yourself.** **

****From this moment on, you have a duty you must uphold.** **

****You must work hard, young one, for many humans will be depending on you.** **

****Don't be afraid.** **

****You will see the world in a different 'light' now.** **

****But you will not be alone.** **

"What the heck was that?" Shintaro said, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know!" Kei said, shocked. "Look, forget this weird app! It's just a stupid prank! I know, maybe I can find a funny video to watch instead! Yeah, something not creepy at all-"

"Look!" Kohaku shouted, frightened. The light was getting brighter, and soon began to envelope the seating area in a blue mist. All Shintaro could see was a bright white light, and the sounds of the food court growing dimmer, replaced by a howling, ferocious wind.

"Taro-kun! Kei-san! Where are you? Don't leave me behind...!"

__Kei! Kohaku! What's happening to us? Where are we going?!_ _


	3. Inside the Darkness

**|?|**

"Oww...my head..." Shintaro said. His vision could only pick up hazy, blue and white 'static', but his head was pounding with pain. "Haku-chan...? Kei-san? I can't see anyone...!"

__Oh my god. We weren't hit by a gas attack, were we? I know that was a big deal back in the mid 90's, but surely it wouldn't happen here. Right?_ _

The haze disappeared, and to Shintaro's relief, he could see the Bella Donna again. That relief soon turned to fright, however, as everything had now been altered inexplicably. No one was in the eating area, nor did any of the tables have any meals on them. It was totally silent – a pin dropping probably would echo for miles. All the colours had changed, too, to mixtures of black and bright green. All the seating and tables looked more dark too to more sophisticated designs, and the modern looking lights were now sconces aflame.

"Where did everyone go?" Shintaro said, clutching his head. He walked away from his table, half expecting someone to pop out and yell 'surprise'. But this was no joke. Everything around him had a strange teal tint to it, as if powerful overhead lights were shining down on the area. The world had changed, and danger was likely afoot.

Staying here was proving fruitless. He quickly tried to use his mobile phone, but there was no signal. Coverage in Shinshuto City was rarely an issue, so this seemed even more peculiar. Rather than simply stay in the food court, he began to walk downstairs, which had also changed to the dark green and black design.

On the second floor, he couldn't see anybody. Which considering how busy the mall was after school, was surprising. There wasn't even the sound of cars driving by. Out of curiosity, he walked by the computer store again – but that, too, was vacant. In fact, it was completely pitch black, but with a faint green light in the far back – far too faint to illuminate the room, but enough to stand out.

__Am I dreaming? Haku-chan, please wake me up! This is too creepy..._ _

Suddenly, the doors to the 'store' opened. A series of lights overhead flashed, revealing a much different interior than the computer store. It was an elaborately decorated red and gold room, full of strange paintings that seemed like swirls of random colours. However, one of them seemed brighter than the others, and it seemed to depict a giant tree being blown by fierce wind.

"...This isn't right. There's no way this shop could be renovated so quickly." Shintaro said, fiercely scrutinising his environment.

This plush red carpet, complete with a gold-trim rug, and the chandeliers above him, as well as the grand black piano to the side of the room. There was also a bed to the other side with pleasant flowery sheets. Shintaro had no idea what this place was, or why it had replaced a computer store, but being in here felt oddly poignant. He didn't remember being in a room like this as a child, so why these feelings came to him, he didn't know.

__That doesn't make sense. Looking out of the window, all I can see is rain battering against the glass. But today it was clear and bright. Am I just dreaming? Cause if I am, I want to wake up now!_ _

Finally, he was able to focus on the green light. It was from an opened box on the far table, with a handwritten letter to the right. Curious, he looked at the letter.

****For the one truest to my heart, I bestow upon you this gift of knowledge. Do not waste it. All I ask is that you never change who you are, unlike myself. Farewell for now.** **

"Is this meant for...me? Who wrote this? The same person who sent me the message?" Shintaro muttered, glancing at the black writing. It was almost like calligraphy, the amount of effort devoted to it. On the bottom right corner of the paper, though, there was a striking symbol that had actually been painted. It was of a red bird, of a species Shintaro could not pinpoint. Yet he had seen it before, he thought. Perhaps on a nature documentary.

__This is getting creepy. I shouldn't be reading love notes meant for others. It can't be for me, I've never even once had a girlfriend. And Haku-chan and I are always just going to be friends, we've known that for years. Akari-san's got a crush on that athelete guy in the third year. Kei...we've only just met! Will someone just tell me what's going on?_ _

Next, he looked inside the box – there was a smartphone inside. In fact, it was another Gnosis – the same kind Kei had just purchased. Looking to his left and right, he saw nothing except generic vases containing bright green plants. Apprehensively, he took the Gnosis. While it didn't seem to come with a charger, it used a standard micro USB port, and Shintaro had plenty cables like those back home.

When he turned it on, he saw the same screens Kei had. Although what he hadn't noticed was, in the upper right corner, neon-green letters spelling out his own name. Even though he hadn't synced the device to any of his online accounts yet, or even gone online. The letters disappeared shortly afterwards, but they seemed to burn within Shintaro's mind.

"Then all of this  _is_  for me?" Shintaro asked, to no one in particular. "...I better look for the others!" Frantic, he took the Gnosis with him, and ran out of the store. Upon doing so, the room immediately turned dark, and the doors slammed shut.

****Meanwhile** **

"Huh...?"

Kohaku couldn't believe what had just happened. She had been in the food court with Kei and Shintaro for an early dinner, but after Kei scanned the QR code on the tablet, everything had become very strange.

Kohaku seemed to be on the ground floor, outside her favourite shop – the music and film store Symphony Corporation, or just 'Symph' for short. Outside of her schooling, one of her favourite things to do was to listen to music of any kind. And she loved picking up releases on DVD, even foreign ones.

__Last week, I bought 'Harmagedon: Genma Taisen'...and it was terrible. Were our standards that bad in 1983? Sheesh. Hang on a minute, why am I thinking so casually? No one's here in this mall at all, and everything's gone completely dark and scary! I don't see Kei-san or Taro-kun..._ _

Heart racing, and her head burning with pain, she tried to use her phone. But there was no reception, not even a nearby Wi-Fi access point. Confused, she began to walk away – only for the doors to Symph to open wide. Gasping, she took a closer look – and found her surroundings made even less sense.

"Where's all the music?"

Rather than shelves of DVDs, CDs, or anything audio related, there were weapons everywhere. Swords, spears, daggers, maces, everything. Perturbed, she inched closer to the front desk – which was empty. However, she felt something in her bag vibrate. Thinking it was her phone, she opened it – but inside was a completely different phone right next to her old one. A Gnosis.

"Huh? I never even bought one of these!" Kohaku said, disturbed. "This isn't Kei's, is it?"

Confused, Kohaku looked at the screen. There was a notification from an app she had never seen before – Visions. Curious, she touched the notification – and there was a blaring loud rocking track. The video was only of burning letters reading 'Arms Race', in front of a muscular arm wrestling another. Kohaku gulped – what sort of madness had she been dragged into.

" _Thank you for coming. The proprietor is not working tonight, and will not be back until tomorrow evening. As a newcomer, however, you are still obliged to take a starting weapon. Those in the front rack will be suitable. Any others are off-limits until you obtain enough finances to purchase higher quality weaponry. All information regarding weaponry can be accessed after you have 'Awakened' in the 'Help' tab of the main application."_

"What? This can't be happening. Newcomer to what?!" Kohaku screamed. "I am not taking a weapon! Why would I ever need one?! The most danger I've ever been in is having the volume on my headphones too loud..."

__But it's not like this is a normal situation, is it? I mean, how can one music store change into this illegal armoury so quickly? Unless these are all replicas, but then again, the Gnosis app...what do I do? Where is Taro-kun?!_ _

Conflicted, she made her way to the front rack. The weapons in front of her looked impressive, but only one felt 'right' for her. The naginata, a traditional weapon among Samurai class. It was, in layman's terms, a blade on a stick – akin to the European glaive. She lifted it into her arms, and despite feeling hefty at first, she began to feel comfortable with the weight.

"Well...if I can use it in self-defence, that's fine, right? I better not let anyone see me using it – whoa?!" Kohaku said. Suddenly, the weapon disappeared, and there was another notification on her tablet. It was pointing to a new app, called 'Equipment'. "The hell is going on?"

Upon opening it, it read:

**Weapon: Naginata**

_\- A basic naginata._

**Accessory: Hair Ribbon**

_A cute hair ribbon, given by mother as a gift._

"How?! How does this thing know about that?" Kohaku yelled.

"Haku-chan!" A voice yelled. Kohaku gasped, turning around. To her relief, there was Shintaro. Without hesitating, she ran to hug him. "Take it easy, I'm right here..."

"Where the hell did you go?" Kohaku asked. "I thought it was just me stuck here..."

"I was in the food court, but I was the only one there..." Shintaro said. "It's like this is a different Bella Donna. That computer shop upstairs is now some weird bedroom! And in there, I found..."

He presented to Kohaku the Gnosis phone he had been 'given' there. Concerned, Kohaku waited. Sure enough, the screen turned on with the 'Visions' application.

"Argh!" Shintaro screamed, leaping up. Kohaku almost laughed, but in this situation, comedy was not helpful. "What kind of app is 'Visions'?"

"Open and see." Kohaku said. Gulping, Shintaro opened it, his hands shaking. It played the exact same message – and while it did, Kohaku's head began to hurt even more. It was like something in her was trying to burst out of her head, trying to break free.

"Why would I need a weapon?" Shintaro asked.

"I don't know, but this app thing seems to think it's essential!" Kohaku said. "But when I chose mine, it disappeared into my Gnosis..."

"Really? How come you have one as well, anyway?" Shintaro said.

"I...I don't know." Kohaku said. "I didn't pick it up anywhere. I was looking in my bag, and there it was, right next to my normal phone."

"That's crazy..." Shintaro said. "I've never even heard of this brand before. Now all three of us have one."

Concerned, he looked around to take in his surroundings. He went to the weapon rack, and thinking about it, he finally picked out a weapon – a rapier sword, with a blade that was almost white. As he did, it vanished, and it went into his machine. "Hey!"

"Look at what it says..." Kohaku said, anxious.

"Uh..." Shintaro said. "Something about...my sword being basic. And it's talking about my wristwatch?"

"It knew that my mother gave me this ribbon, Taro-kun!" Kohaku said. "Something is _really weird_  here. We've got to go find Kei-san, before something really bad happens!"

"You're right. Let's go!" Shintaro said. The two of them walked out, back into the desolate, gloomy mall they had once loved.

****|Bella Donna|** **

Not long after leaving the store, which might have been called 'Arms Race', they heard weird noises. Almost bestial, but with heavy distortion. And yet they didn't seem to be coming from the loudspeakers, which usually cheerily announced new sales or promotions when not pumping the mall with classical music.

"...Where is that coming from?" Shintaro asked. Both checked their Gnosis, but the phones were silent. "Oh god, what now?"

"I have no idea!" Kohaku said. "Maybe we ought to look at this thing carefully...there might be a way to get things back to normal – ARGH!"

"What?! Haku-chan, don't scare me like – WHOA?!"

Right in front of them were two black moving piles of ooze. Yet these seemed to have red eyes. Quickly, these red eyes lit up, and the two shadowy monsters changed into strange red humanoids, with a giant crescent moon for a head, each carrying a huge sack over their shoulders.

" **You kids are up late! Time to go to sleep!"** They said, with menacing smiles.

"Oh my god! RUN!" Shintaro screamed. Hastily, he grabbed Kohaku's hand, and the two began sprinting down the stairs. From what he could hear behind them, though, the monsters were not letting them leave. They seemed to be in hot pursuit.

"Where are we even going?!" Kohaku demanded.

"The bus, where else?!" Shintaro said.

"Do you really think there's a bus right now?" Kohaku asked. "Wait, look! Right by the front gateway!"

Standing in front of the gate was a rather pale, disturbed looking Kei. Upon seeing her two new faces, she gasped, and suddenly held out her arm. A glowing light appeared from her bag, and soon she was wielding a katana.

"Kei!" Shintaro cried, relieved.

"Shintaro! Kohaku! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Kei said. "I knew you had to be somewhere, but -"

"We're being followed! No time to chat!" Shintaro said, looking behind him. The two monsters were still chasing them, even angrier than ever.

"They're going to kill us!" Kohaku wailed.

"You got weapons from that strange store too, didn't you?" Kei said, as the two caught up to her. They stood, side by side, at the two sack-wielding monsters. "I think you need to do something called an Awakening first until you can use them properly!"

"Awakening? What the hell is that?!" Shintaro said. "Oh no! Look out!" One of the monsters was about to lunge at him – but before it could do so, Kohaku grabbed and shoved him out of harm's way.

" **What a loser! He has to get girls to protect him! Let's bash his brains out!"** The creatures shouted. Shintaro gulped, looking left and right, panting for breath.

"How are we going to get out of this alive?!" Kohaku said. "These things..." Suddenly, her tear-stricken eyes went wide with horror. "Oh no! That's why there's no one here but us...the Shadows killed all the other shoppers!"

"Seriously? Then that means, this entire city is in danger!" Shintaro said.

"Then, is this the end? Huh – ah! My head, it – argh!" Kei said. Suddenly, the air around her changed, and the two creatures advanced on her. Her entire body was glowing a bright blue, and she held her katana tightly in both hands.

Before the other two could do anything, there was a big flash of blue light, and a holographic image of a card appeared. On one side, it depicted the 'Fool' image of tarot card reading. On the other side, was a feminine deity. Kei stared at it, resolved. It seemed her headache had vanished.

"What is that?" Kohaku asked, mystified.

"She's beautiful..." Shintaro said, in all honesty.

Kei, looking at the card, looked down at her self, examining her hands. Then, with confidence, she gazed at the two enemies, and said one word.

**"** ****Persona!** ** **"**

Both Shadows seemed incensed with rage at the sight. They lunged forward, but then there was an explosion of blue smoke, knocking them backwards. Shintaro and Kohaku shielded themselves with their arms, and when the light faded, they looked forward.

There, floating in mid-air, was the same goddess from the card. A fair-skinned lady, she had on a long, flowing emerald green dress, with magical jewellery of that same stone to match. Swirling around her were petals of numerous gorgeous flowers, and her long, wavy brown hair was silky and went to her bare feet. In her right hand, she held a wooden staff with a green wreath on top, and a sunflower in the centre.

****I am thou. Thou art I. I cometh from the sea of thy heart. I am Ostara, she who will guide you to a new dawn.** **


	4. Unlocked Fate

"What the – Kei! What's happening?!" Shintaro screamed.

"Shintaro-san...Kohaku-san...I must protect you! Stay back!" Kei shouted, without looking at the two. Shintaro and Kohaku could only look at each other, dumbfounded.

__What is that thing? Ostara? It feels real. She's so strong, I can feel it even by looking at her. Kei, this isn't a Tokyo thing, is it? This 'Persona'?_ _

"Kei!" Kohaku shouted. "Let's make a break for it!"

"You must be joking. Running away just to survive?" Kei said. "I'm not weak. Not as long as I have my Persona. Ostara...please protect me!"

The two monsters, now angry, were getting closer. Kei, not even timid, looked proudly at the goddess Ostara in front of her.

"Aqua!"

Fitting with this direction, Ostara raised her staff high in the air, and the petals span around her. Suddenly, a gush of water appeared from the ground, hitting one of the two monsters – and it instantly was torn to pieces, its body vanishing.

" **ARGH! Get em for me, bro..."**

"What?!" Kohaku said. "How did she do that?"

"You can fight them with a Persona...right?" Shintaro asked.

"Smart as always, Shintaro-san." Kei said.

__Always? You've known me for less than 24 hours..._ _

"It's hard to explain, but...I can feel this power right in me. But I don't have time to chat! It's coming to -"

Suddenly, the remaining creature got up close to Kei, and before the transfer student could do anything, it bashed her hard with its heavy sack. In pain, Kei lunged forward, hitting the dark being with her blade. It seemed to hurt it quite badly, and in fact, the moon-headed demon seemed quite dizzy.

"Finish it off!" Shintaro yelled. No longer afraid, he felt pride. Seeing Kei fighting, full of confidence, had washed away all his fear. Kohaku was the same, cheering on her new friend as if she was at one of her concerts.

"I certainly will." Kei said, smirking. "Ostara! Petal Step!"

Ostara held up her dress with both hands, then did a short tap dance. Immediately, her petals aimed at the monster, and were pushed forward by an unknown force – all piercing the monster. This was more than enough to kill it, forcing it to fade into nothingness with a scream of absolute agony.

"Kei...?" Shintaro asked.

"Are you alright?!" Kohaku said.

Kei nodded, even though she fell to her knees. She dropped her katana, which quickly faded – going into her Gnosis. Panting for breath, she watched as Ostara disappeared, not leaving behind even a single petal.

"I'm...fine..." Kei said, exhausted. "That was a close one..."

"No kidding." Shintaro said. "But, the way you just murdered those creatures..."

"You saved our lives, Kei-san!" Kohaku said.

"It's not over just yet. We've got to find some way to get back to normal." Kei said.

"Normal?" Shintaro asked.

"I can't say for sure, but...I think this is some kind of parallel world." Kei said. "How else do you explain that record shop being replaced by a weapon store? Or the candy shop getting turned into some weird candy factory?"

"Candy...factory." Kohaku said, dryly. "Oh god...let's go have a look, I guess..."

****|Bella Donna Shopping Mall – RainBow Factory|** **

This location seemed visually close to the normal shop, but with all the strange, whimsical apparatus moving and whirring, the gigantic conveyor belts that seemed to defy gravity and go along the ceilings, and a massive chocolate fountain, this place looked like something out of a child's dream.

"Oh my god. This like out of a kid's cartoon..." Kohaku said, staring at a box of items called 'Macca Leaves'. They were green edible leaves that advertised with 'Share them or leave them!' in English letters.

"What's the deal with this place, then?" Shintaro asked.

"How are these ordinary shops transforming into new ones?" Kohaku asked.

"Maybe the Gnosis will tell us." Kei said, taking hers out. Shintaro did the same, and a lot of notifications appeared. However, Shintaro glanced at Kei, and saw a picture of a blue Tarot card next to her name on the home screen. There was nothing next to Shintaro's or Kohaku's, however.

__It must be because of her Persona. This computer seems to know all about it..._ _

Shintaro touched the first notification, which was the Visions app. When it opened, he saw the logo – a giant rainbow made up of different coloured candy, held up by smiling anime girls. The accompanying music was, appropriately enough, a bubblegum pop tune.

**"** _**Welcome to RainBow! In regular mode, we serve colourful, tasty, and fabulous candy to everyone, raine or shine! In 'Shadow' mode, we sell the same! Only difference is, our candy doubles as tasty medicine! We'll heal you, and cure all your nasty status effects! And if you really like the taste, they'll work even better! Unfortunately, our Shadow mode owner is busy with other stuff! Don't get any wise ideas, though! Unless you leave enough money on the counter, you're not allowed to take anything! If you're a newcomer, then we're so sorry we're not here to greet you! But please pick up one of the 'starter snack boxes', handmade to give you the best start! We'll see you soon! And don't forget to keep coming to the regular mode shop too!"** _

"I have some questions." Shintaro said, stunned.

"Me too." Kohaku said, incredulous.

"From what that voiceover said, there are two versions of this store. 'Regular' mode is presumably the one we were in earlier today with Akari." Kei said. "The other mode is this one. Described as 'Shadow' mode. There must be some way to get back to the regular mode..."

"Thank goodness!" Kohaku said. "Akari's probably worried sick about us. We have to get back and tell her we're okay!"

"Hang on a minute. I'm still getting my head around this. Does this mean that the weird bedroom I was in, that weapon shop...they're all 'Shadow mode' versions of the normal shops?" Shintaro asked.

"It seems so. Perhaps this entire mall. I'm not a genius at this, okay? I just started!" Kei said. "We should count our blessings, though. I have the means to keep us all safe from those monsters. We found each other, and we're not alone. And most importantly, we know there's a method to get back home."

"I've got an idea!" Kohaku said. "We should go back to the table we were sitting at for dinner! The code we scanned started all of this, right? Then maybe, if we can find a code there, we can return!"

"Yes! And never come back!" Shintaro said.

"Kohaku-san, that's perfect!" Kei said, relieved. "But, to be on the safe side, we all should take these starter kits."

"Why us?" Shintaro asked. "You're the only one who has that power!"

"Yes, but if you get injured, those candies will have to act as medicine." Kei said.

Shintaro shrugged, and took one of the pink gift boxes from the counter. Kohaku followed suit, and the trio left the factory.

_How is this even happening? How can this place had two different modes? I don't like this one at all! Using a sword to fight, and relying on Kei to protect us...it's not right! Haku-chan, I really hope your idea works out!_

****|Food Court|** **

"It's so strange...there's nothing here at all. Not even the smell of any food." Kei said.

"Yeah..." Shintaro said. "I can't even smell those sweet potato french fries coated in wasabi."

"Eew." Kohaku said, shuddering. "Which table were we at again?"

"That one, to the right!" Kei said, pointing to a table. Not even a single trace of their meal was left here. Perhaps once they returned to 'Regular' mode, they would see the remains of the pizzas the group had been eating. She looked at the centre of the table, and to her relief, there was a QR code. She turned on her Gnosis, only for it to open up a new app called 'Gnosis Transport'.

"What's that?" Kohaku asked.

"Let me see.  _'Congratulations on awakening your Persona. Only a select few have the inner strength to look upon themselves in this, a state of dark confrontations. Due to your strong potential, you have the power to return to the normal Shinsuto City, or rather '_ ** **Akátharto Kósmo**** _'. Not only that, you can return to this state, the '_ ** **Theío Kósmo**** _', at any time, using the Aeon Pathways – disguised as QR codes throughout both Kósmos.'_ "

"...That doesn't make any sense." Shintaro said. "There are two states to one city, and we can pass between them? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know!" Kohaku said. "Kei, does it say anything else?"

"Um...hold on. ' _While it may be difficult to understand at first, both Kósmos exist in exactly the same space. But while Akátharto consists of the entire globe, Theío only covers the Shinsuto Prefecture'_." On her screen, a map of the city and its immediate surroundings appeared on screen, and it flashed between green and red – perhaps to indicate each of the two 'Kósmos'.

"So, if I've got this right, we can go between two different versions of one city via these 'Aeon Pathways'?" Shintaro asked.

"That seems to be the case. Now the app is asking me to scan for the code. Wait, hold on..." Kei said. She went back to the notification list, and saw yet another newly installed app. It was called 'Shadow Navi'. She touched it, and saw a birds-eye map of the food court – and there were three blue dots, standing where her team was.

"What are you doing, Kei-san?" Shintaro asked.

"Are those blue dots meant to be us?" Kohaku asked. "Then what are the three red ones?"

Kei touched the dots, and showed her phone to the others. They were like the monsters that had attacked them earlier – designated by the app as ' **Sandman** '. A flood of information appeared on the screen, such as their 'HP', 'SP', 'Level', 'Arcana', and 'Times Encountered'. Touching some of the other dots revealed that there were two other varieties indigenous to this area as well, such as a red-haired Pixie and a diminutive creature called a Chagrin.

"The monsters that we were fighting. They're called Shadows!" Kei said, stunned. "Maybe we can get home before they see us!" She tried to scan the code on the table, but it did not work. "What?!" It played an shrill beeping error tone, and a red text box popped up.

****Users '** ** ****Shintaro Nakahara** ** ****' And '** ** ****Kohaku Teruya** ** ****' Unawakened.** **

****Unawakened Gnosis Owners Must Awaken Before Transportation.** **

****Only User '** ** ****Kei Kakusa** ** ****' Can Transport.** **

Kei gasped in horror, staring at her phone in terror. "It knows our names! It's saying that only I can go! If I do that, then...you'd be stranded here!"

"Gee. And everything was going so _well_ up until this point _._ " Shintaro said, sarcastically.

"Kei-san, what does it mean by 'awaken'?" Kohaku asked.

"I'm still not entirely sure. but I'll save us from these Shadows! Stand back!" Kei ordered.

She ran ahead with her sword, and with her Gnosis screen glowing a bright green, she conjured her 'Persona', the enchanting Ostara. Three enemies were present this time. One of them was an impish Pixie, flanked by two of the hedgehog-esque Chagrin.

" **Wow! Lady Pixie, those two girls are almost as beautiful as you!"** The leftmost Chagrin said.

" **Shame about that dude, though..."** The rightmost Chagrin said.

" **Aww, they're such cute kids! And so helpless! Let's play with them a little, shall we? Hehe!"** The Pixie said, cheerily.

"Kei-san! Please, be careful!" Kohaku begged.

"No need to panic. These things are just small fry." Kei said. "You saw me take down the Sandmen, didn't you? It shouldn't be too hard this time."

"You fought two before, Kei-san! This time there's three!" Shintaro said.

"Even so, I've got a good feel for what Ostara can do. Well, she IS me..." Kei said. "Persona!"

Ostara, twirling her floral rod around, cast down an Aqua on one of the Chagrin. It was hurt quite badly, but not finished. Kei leapt forward, bringing her katana downwards, and the strike cleaved it in two.

" **No! Lady Pixie, forgive me...I always loved you...remember our true love...always!"**

"Alright!" Shintaro said, impressed.

"Kei-san is O-kei!" Kohaku said, giggling.

"Thank you, Kohaku-san. Just don't ever use that line again. These Shadows are painful enough as it is." Kei said. "Huh?"

Before she saw it coming, she was hit by one of the Chagrin's spikes. And they were sharp, piercing her body. Crying out in pain, she tried to get back up – but a burst of flame hit her.

"NO!" Shintaro yelled.

" **I won't forgive you, meanie!"** The Pixie said.

"We have to do something!" Kohaku said. She held out her hand. Slowly, her naginata appeared out of her Gnosis, and flew into her hand. "Taro-kun! Your weapon!"

"...Huh?! Now?!" Shintaro said, panicking.

"Yes, now! Hurry! There's no time!" Kohaku said. "We have to get Kei-san to safety!"

"I know that! But..." Shintaro mumbled. "Fine!" He outstretched his left hand, and before long, there was a simple fencing sword in his grip. "Let's go!"

The Chagrin and Pixie seemed to have caught wind of their plans. They ignored Kei's agony, and turned towards their new prey. Kohaku, angrily, tried her best to stab the Chagrin with her weapon. But it seemed more like she was poking the air with it. Shintaro was not having any more luck with his sword, not that his wild swinging 'skill' helped matters.

" **Boring! Come back in a hundred centuries!"** The surviving Chagrin said.

" **That's a millennium, you twit!"** The Pixie said, annoyed.

"What is this? We're hitting them, and they're right in front of us!" Shintaro complained.

"Forget it! We grab Kei and we try and get out of here!" Kohaku shouted.

"N-No...that won't work!" Kei said, finally arising. "If you try that, only I can get home!"

Shintaro gasped. He and Kohaku lacked the gift Kei did – and thus, she would be the only survivor tonight. His chosen target was raising its hands, chanting a spell – frightened, he covered his face with his hands.

Then his head started to ache. When he shut his eyes, a blue butterfly somehow flew past him in that darkness. And he heard a voice, speaking in a booming, commanding tone.

****One who bears the burden of potential, heed my voice. My name is Philemon. Your existence will soon reveal its true complexity, yet this is nothing to fear. Once you truly know yourself, and why you continue to exist, life can begin anew, and you can wield your own identity as power. Answer me this question. What is your name?** **

"Shintaro...Nakahara."

"Kohaku...Teruya."

__You too? What is going on? Why haven't the Shadows attacked us yet?_ _

Suddenly, he heard a straight wind-like sound. Then it hit him. A blue mist was around his body, and his heart was pounding. Weirdly, the headache like sensation now felt like a pleasant, comfortable state of freedom. And he knew what word to call this newfound energy in himself.

****The time has come for you, and the one who will be your eternal friend for generations to come, to peer into yourselves. The side of you that no one has seen before...command it. Whether it be a goddess or a demon...it is you!** **

"Right!" Kohaku said.

"Here we go!" Shintaro said. "Ready, Haku-chan?"

She nodded. Kei watched, in awe, at the two – whose blue auras seemed to combine into a storm of true power.

" ** **PERSONA**** **!** " They both screamed. The massive burst caused the Shadows to fall backwards, and the area to shake.

Shintaro couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was a holographic image of a Tarot card – the Hierophant – and on the other side was his 'Persona'. He looked up ahead, and saw it in front of him. A brave looking young man with a suit of gleaming green, smooth armour, and a billowing orange cape. Upon this cape in gold were strange letters that Shintaro did not know. His hair was dark green, slicked back and neatly tied into a ponytail. His arms were a broadsword and a shield, both ready for action.

****I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Ogma, one who will become the champion of any battle that comes thy way.** **

On the other side of the arena, Kohaku was shocked to see her own Tarot card – a Priestess. And in front of her was a beautiful, dainty pale figure wearing a dress made up of white, flowing silk, tied around the waist with a golden ribbon. She wore silver anklets around her slender, smooth legs, and her long pink hair turned darker at the tips. In one hand, she carried a large basket full of potent, magical herbs. In the other was a glowing ball of white light.

****I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Airmid, she whose healing knowledge is known only to thy.** **

"Oh my god! You two can use it as well!" Kei said, relieved. "I knew I could count on you to save the day!"

"Airmid... She's so beautiful!" Kohaku said. "She's a part of me, right?"

"Ogma..." Shintaro said. "That cape, that sword...he's strong!"

He looked back on the Chagrin, and grinned. Pointing to the Shadow, he continued to smile.

"Persona!"

Ogma complied, by rushing at the Shadow – and via his sword, he struck it savagely with Blade Strike. The velocity was critical, and the Shadow's true weak nature was revealed upon its death.

" **Dammit, me too...? Why don't they make armour that can fit me?!"**

"Well done, Taro-kun!" Kohaku said. "Airmid, show me what you can do! I believe in you!"

The graceful Airmid debuted elegantly – by commanding the earth itself. With one flick of her sphere of power, she smote the Pixie with a black of rocks.

" **Hehe...good luck, you guys...it was a fun battle..."**

It soon perished, leaving the area clear of Shadows.

__Incredible...all of us, we have the same power! Ostara, Ogma, Airmid! We won't have to rely on Kei to do everything for us. We're a proper team now!_ _

"Are you both okay?" Kei asked, worried. Kohaku nodded, as did Shintaro. Their Personae vanished, fading into the Gnosis phones. Shintaro looked at his, and smiled – there was a blue card next to his name now. Now, the trio of them had completed their Awakening.

"We're going to be alright..." Kohaku said. "We don't have to depend on you anymore. Now, I can fend for myself!" She dismissed her weapon, by instinctively holding it out. Shintaro managed the same.

"That's wonderful. I had a feeling you two were tough." Kei said, putting her katana away. "Oh! We can try going back home now! There shouldn't be anything else stopping us!"

"Yeah!" Shintaro said. The trio ran back to their table, and Kei, full of hope, scanned the code again. However, an error sound played, and their hearts sank.

"Oh, no. What's wrong this time?" Kohaku asked.

"It says... **'Frequency blocked. Isolate anomaly and neutralize it'**."

"Isolate and neutralize..." Shintaro said to himself. "Something's jamming our way back home, and we have to find it and beat it up?"

"That would be my guess." Kei said. "I'm not sure where this 'anomaly' is, but it's probably right here in the mall."

"Then let's go hunt it down!" Kohaku said. "We have the tools and the power now. If it's another of those Shadows, we can't lose!"

"I wouldn't get too cocky." Shintaro said. "This is just a hunch, but I don't think every 'Shadow' is like those..."

With no sign of any anomalies on this floor, the trio left, descending to the second floor.

__Is any of this even real? We have to get back to our home. Akari, Mrs Suzuki, Mum, Dad...we need to show them we're all okay!_ _


	5. Nocturnal Beauty

**|Bella Donna Shopping Centre – Golden Dining Palace|**

The events of tonight had taken a dark turn, even without the involvement of Shadows. Yet if they could destroy the 'anomaly', they could return back home and put this mess behind them.

"We're going to have to look downstairs. I don't see anything else here except us." Shintaro said.

"Yes." Kohaku said. "There could be other Shadows roaming this place, however...we must be on guard."

"Agreed." Kei said. "Even with Persona, these Shadows can still cause us serious pain."

"I think you're right..." Kohaku said. "Okay, rule number 1. No getting separated. We have to stay together as three. Understood?"

"That's fine with me..." Shintaro said. "I don't think either of us being alone in this state of reality is safe at all. We'll proceed with caution."

"Good. Then one more thing. Our battle formation." Kei said. "I think I should take the lead, and you two stay at either side. Is that clear?"

"Um...okay." Kohaku said. "Your Persona does seem a little stronger than ours, actually..."

_Guess that throws me being the heroic lead out the window._

"Don't let it bother you. We're all still new." Kei said. "Onward!"

**|Bella Donna 2F|**

Mere seconds after descending the stairs, and already two Shadows – another Sandman and an Obariyon - were present. Kei took out her katana, but Kohaku & Shintaro ran into battle.

"Careful, you two!" Kei said, worried.

"We can handle this!" Kohaku said. "Go, Airmid! Magna!"

A short burst of earth power hit the Shadow, causing it quite a bit of damage. Kohaku ran up closer, and tried to finish it off with her glaive. However, while she just barely scratched it, she was too slow to avoid being hit by the grinning Obariyon.

"Agh!" Kohaku yelped, stumbling to the ground. "These monsters are so irritating..."

"I know." Shintaro said. "Try not to worry. We can beat them, just like before! Ogma...has the power of wind in him. And I think this is called...Garu!"

_It's like, even without using the Gnosis, I can tell what skills my Persona knows and what their names are. This power is going to be amazing...will I be able to use it when we're back to the normal 'Kosmos'?_

A sudden gust of wind – green and lurid – swooped in, and struck the Obariyon. This seemed to harm it a bit, enough for Shintaro to run in and weaken it further with some sharp thrusts. However, the Sandman began to cast a spell – an electric attack.

"Crap! This guy knows Zio!" Kei said.

The electricity hit Shintaro, shocking him to the floor. Kohaku stood up, frantic, and lashed wildly at the Shadow whose sorcery had harmed her friend. This time, she would not falter – her blade would be coursed into the Sandman's vitals. It pierced the dark 'flesh', more like ooze of an impossible composition, and before long, the monster disintegrated into nothingness.

"Pretty good..." Kei said.

"You wait until you see this!"

Shintaro, also back to his feet, stood in front of the surviving Shadow. Holding his sword up high, be began thrusting at it repeatedly, leaving tiny holes all over the Obariyon's body. Finally, he slashed right through it, cleaving it in two – leaving it to the mercy of death.

"That was great, Taro-kun!" Kohaku said.

"You as well, Haku-chan!" Shintaro said. They leaped up, high fiving each other with both hands.

"...You two have been friends for a long time, haven't you?" Kei asked, with a slight smile.

"Since we were in elementary school." Shintaro said, fondly.

"It's just been like that from the start. We've always got each other's back. We're practically family now." Kohaku said, happily.

Kei smiled, walking further down. "I had someone like that once. My aunt. She was a lot younger than my mother, actually. By about ten years. So my aunt was more like my big sister. I really loved her, but..."

"...You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Shintaro said. "I...I know what that pain is like."

"Shintaro..." Kohaku said, sadly.

"It never really goes away, does it?" Kei said. "One day at a time...that's what I have to tell myself. I just wish she could have seen this city with me. She would have loved it here. That was the kind of girl she was. She just had to get out and about, meeting new people, experiencing the hustle and bustle – so she could write back to my mother and me about it."

"Looks like you've inherited her travel bug, then." Kohaku said, sweetly.

"Maybe..." Kei said.

"In that case, we better make sure your journey here doesn't end so early." Shintaro said. "The anomaly...let's go back to the ground floor!"

**|Bella Donna – Ground Floor|**

The eerie emptiness of the mall was starting to get to Shintaro. In this peculiar state of reality, it seemed some stores were still running, providing their wares for the purposes of fighting these Shadows. Yet who would the other customers be? Shintaro had never heard anything like this before. All the times he had come here, it had been the same old story. Looking in the book shop, buying the latest series he had gotten interested in – recently, the _Leanne Rouge_ series, authored by the newly popular Celestine Ashikaga.

_Damn, if none of this had happened, I'd probably be in my room reading one of those books. Wonder if Akari's looking around the mall for us? Hope she's not called the police or anything..._

"I must say, that statue in the centre's a masterclass piece of art." Kei said.

"You think so too?" Shintaro asked. "It was designed by an Italian architect. You see, an Italian firm with strong ties to Japan decided to jointly develop this place with a Japanese company, as a sign of strong ties between nations."

"Now I'm hungry for pizza again." Kohaku said, looking down at her stomach. "Maybe one with teriyaki sauce all over it."

"We could go wild and throw takoyaki on top too." Shintaro suggested.

"...No." Kohaku said.

"Strange..." Kei said, looking at it. "The more I look at it..."

"Huh?" Kohaku asked. Kei didn't respond, walking closer to the statue. Shintaro shuddered, suddenly feeling the cold. Surely the air temperature would be warmer than this in spring. "The statue looks the same as ever to me."

"That's because you two are accustomed to it." Kei pointed out. "With my newcomer's eye, I can see something's not right."

"...Like what?" Shintaro asked.

Suddenly, there was sharp fizzing sound. Around the base of the statue – a large circular platform – three different symbols appeared. On Shintaro's Gnosis, a picture of the middle one appeared on his screen, with the words 'Boundless Love' above them. Looking closely, Shintaro's picture seemed to be a green circular picture, with silhouettes of a boy and a girl falling into each other's arms – as if to embrace each other after a long time apart. The other symbols, amber and purple, were similar – except they had a different girl in each one's left side, instead of a boy.

_What is going on? I'm usually good at picking up on symbolism, but I don't get this at all. Love...I wonder who this girl is supposed to be? And why these others love her?_

"...Pressing this symbol would be a bad idea, right?" Kohaku asked.

"I think this is our anomaly." Shintaro said. He tapped his symbol, and a musical note of 'Fa' played – but nothing happened. Kohaku pressed hers, and 'Do' played. Kei's activated a 'Mi' sound. None of these seemed to have any affect.

"I've got it. Press them all at the same time!" Kei said.

"Will that work?" Shintaro asked.

"If you have a better plan, tell me!" Kei demanded.

"...Fine. On the count of three, everybody." Shintaro said. "One..."

"Two..." Kohaku continued.

"THREE!" Kei shouted. They each tapped the symbol, causing it to vanish from each screen. On the statue, they glowed, causing a long melody to play – including other notes. The podium flashed, and the statue began to shake. Just then, a black tear fell from the statue's eyes, streaming down her polished cheek.

"...Why is that statue crying?" Kohaku asked.

"I've been wanting to ask 'why' about everything that's happened tonight..." Shintaro said, angrily.

Just then, there was a big blast of purple energy, as the statue's left arm broke off, falling onto the ground with a loud echoing thud. Black 'blood' poured out of it. The same happened with the right arm. Then, little by little, the 'veins' connecting the head to the body broke, calling it to wobble and fall off.

"ARGH!" Kohaku yelled, covering her eyes.

The remaining pieces of the statue completely broke apart, leaving a pool of dark fluid. Suddenly, the black fluid rose up, forming a black ball – and from this ball, came two arms and two legs. The ball became more feminine, and a head with pointed ears sprouted from it, developing a rather pointed nose and gaunt, heavily powdered cheekbones, sharp orange eyes, and red lipstick.

"...Out of the girls I've seen today, she's by far the ugliest." Shintaro said.

Even stranger, however, was what happened next. From the shopping bags appeared clothes – a long and tight purple satin dress, tied around the waist with a lilac ribbon, dark pink high heels, and a long white mink stole. Around her neck was a gold necklace with rubies inset, and dangling from her ears were earrings of a similar make. The last item from the bags was a classy beehive wig. Before long, this demonic female was clad in all of these accoutrements, and crossed her arms seductively, exposing her long, manicured fingernails.

" **Oh, darling, aren't you all so plain and ordinary next to me? I can't help it if I'm beautiful, you know. Don't hate me. It took a lot of effort to become this gorgeous."**

"...Oh my god." Kohaku said, disgusted. "Is this another Shadow? It doesn't seem like those others we've fought."

"Kei, let's take her out now, and -"

"Wait! No one do anything!" Kei said, before Shintaro could take up the sword. She lifted up her Gnosis, and quickly saw the notification. According to the information recorded, this 'woman' was known as the ' **Bella Donna Della Notte - Nox** '. And her Arcana was 'Moon'. However, no other information was there.

" **My name is Nox. Such a pleasure to meet you. If only you three had dressed for the occasion. Well, perhaps the undertakers can put you in something stunning, hmm?"**

Laughing, the dark mistress span around, her dress swaying in the wind. She clicked her fingers, and a block of ice materialised from nowhere to hit Shintaro. This was the ice spell Bufu.

"Ah!" Shintaro yelped, jumping back. This pain...it was sharp, and full of dread. This was a new experience for him, and for Kohaku. To be faced with an entity that wanted nothing more than to kill them – and savagely. The previous Shadows didn't seem too intelligent, despite being able to speak, while this Nox was of a higher mind.

" **Oh! Darling, darling, should you really be looking at me with such contempt? This is the only world I can be so extravagant in. Outside of here, I had not a yen to my name. Then my luck changed! Now that I'm a Shadow, I'm the belle of the ball now! Everyone wants me at their party! But I can't come! I need to get rid of you three first!"**

"Wait, I don't understand." Kohaku said. "You weren't a Shadow before?"

"I'm not sure I get it either..." Kei said. "I don't think we'll get anywhere trying to talk to her. Let's just kill this Shadow. Just looking at her makes me want to retch."

Angry, Shintaro conjured Ogma. This time, he required the Persona's sword. Therefore, the cruel woman was sliced by a Blade Strike. This caused her to yelp, holding herself to bear the pain.

" **NO! Don't...don't give me scars! You won't tear my perfect skin, you scoundrel!"**

_No, don't try and play innocent with me! You can't pretend you're the guilty party. If we don't kill you, we can't go home! So just hurry up and fall!_

"Good work." Kei said. "This is going to take a lot more effort than the past battles. But I was getting bored with those weaklings anyway. Here goes! Petal Step!"

Ostara appeared, and quickly directed her petals. They grazed the Shadow, causing them to shriek. Furious, she leaned over, and scratched Kei with her claws. Next, she cast a spell of pure darkness – Eiha.

" **Take THAT!"**

"AH!" Kei yelled. "What a waste, paying all that money to have your nails done, and you're ruining them that way? At least I chose a weapon! Eat THIS!" She leaped up, and slashed the Shadow's neck.

"That's the spirit!" Kohaku yelled. "Airmid, come! Magna!"

The earth itself rose up, to drag down this demonic creature. It inflicted some injury, to be sure, but not enough to to vanquish it just yet. Shintaro wondered – if this Shadow could hide within a statue, what else could they break out of? This entire building could be full of things like these.

_No, don't give that a second thought. We're gonna be okay. Just keep it up, and fight! We'll get through this!_

"Persona!" Shintaro yelled. Each time he summoned Ogma, it felt less strenuous. To be able to use this power as if it was second nature already was disturbing, to be sure, but if it made it easier to fight this woman, so be it. A Garu spell was launched, blowing about the various signs and banners around the stores – and hurting Nox, of course.

"Drown! Aqua!" Kei commanded. Ostara, a pure maiden, could control the element of water beautifully – with strong pressure, too. Shrieking with rage, the Bella Donna was beyond aggravated. She crossed her arms, over her chest, and leaned her head back – basking in the darkness of the sky. Then, her nails started to emit a bright red mist – becoming the Scarlet Night.

"What? That can't be good!" Kohaku said. She held her glaive in front of her, preparing to guard.

However, her guard was broken completely – by two fast slashes of the claws, leaving an after-burn of a red cross in the air. Kohaku fell over five feet backwards from the impact, groaning.

"Haku-chan!" Shintaro yelled, frightened. "Are you okay?!"

"No...not really..." Kohaku weezed, pulling herself back up. "Airmid...help me! Dia!"

Without her healing spells, the team would have struggled to survive tonight. A calming, soothing energy flowed into Kohaku's body, numbing the pain from the Bella Donna's assault.

"Phew!" Shintaro said. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"If I don't keep myself healthy, then I won't be able to take care of you, Taro-kun..." Kohaku said.

Shintaro smiled. Nox was coming after him, swinging her silky smooth arms at his face. Frantically, he waved his sword around, with all the finesses of a rolled-up newspaper. Yet was good enough to draw 'blood, and leaving some scars on the Shadow's 'skin'.

" **NO! NO NO NO! How could you do this to me?! Someone only just awakened is already causing me such pain?! How is this even possible?! I was supposed to be elite!"**

"Where is that blood coming from...?" Shintaro asked, to no one in particular. Shrugging, he summoned Ogma again. "Garu!"

The wind shot forth, blowing the Shadow backwards – allowing Kei to slash her from behind with her katana.

"Don't think our inexperience is to your advantage." Kei said, somewhat wisely. "Your fate is sealed no matter how new we are! Accept it now, or lament it to your grave!"

"...Kei?" Kohaku said, bemused.

"Hehe..." Kei said, smirking. "Did I sound tough like that? I thought I could scare her off..."

"You scared  _me_ , at any rate." Shintaro said, shuddering.

" **Alright, you delinquents, you're getting on my nerves now. When I'm done with you, they won't ever be able to identify your corpses!"**

Suddenly, the Shadow cast an ice spell – it was akin to Bufu, but it actually struck the entire team. This was Mabufu, one of many multi-target spells.

"Ah!" Shintaro yelled.

"Cold...!" Kohaku said, shivering.

"It's...freezing..." Kei said. "Ostara... I need your help! Please!"

Ostara appeared, with a gentle smile. She lightly tapped the ground, and a pool of bright blue water appeared beneath Kei. It seemed to regenerate her body slightly, just with her standing in it. This was Hydration, an ability that Ostara seemed to have acquired throughout battling.

"How did you do that?" Kohaku asked.

"I don't know, I just...tried to use whatever power I had in me that could heal." Kei said, relieved.

"It's beautiful..." Shintaro said, pleased.

" **You call that beautiful? What does she have that I don't?! Why...why are you trying so hard to destroy me? All I ever wanted was to be the prettiest girl in town...so that people wouldn't ignore me..."**

"Shit! She's still rambling on!" Kohaku said. Nox was preparing to strike Shintaro again, as viciously as she could. "Oh no you don't! Airmid!"

The dainty medic's earth hit the Bella Donna, ceasing it's assault. This left her guard open, for many slashed from the three bladed weapons the teenagers possessed.

"Yes!" Kei said. "It's on the ropes now...we can do it! Ostara! Petal Step!"

A flurry of sharp petals became the next weapon to aim for Nox's vitals, leaving her body covered in wounds. Angry, Nox covered her face, screaming, and her body seemed to be radiating a violent red energy. She struck Shintaro, and he almost felt like he was being torn apart. The girls didn't fare better, their screams echoing throughout the room.

" **No one understands my pain! No one but our righteous madam...DIE! NOW!"**

"She's like a woman possessed..." Kohaku said, feeling the pain of the attack.

"In her current state, she's lost all composure...but she's gotten stronger as a result." Kei said. Nox soon confirmed this theory, by raining down another Dusk's Ice.

"ARGH!" Kohaku screamed.

"Haku-chan...it's time we put an end to this!" Shintaro said.

"How?" Kohaku asked.

"Our power of synergism!" Shintaro said. "Just imagine it. My wind, and your earth. Together, they're unbeatable! Just try combining that energy with mine...we should be able to do this!"

"...Okay!" Kohaku said. She summoned Airmid, while her best friend summoned Ogma. The two clinked their weapons, and sharply flew away – as a small tornado appeared, collecting rocks that fell from the sky. The Bella Donna ignored it, and tried to reach Kei – only to be ravaged by both stones and the breeze of death.

" **Whirlwind's Peak!"**

The storm ended, and all was done. Unable to contain herself, Nox shrieked.

" **NOO! I thought I wouldn't have to go through this pain anymore! You...you will pay for your insolence! I'm sorry...Ju-"**

Nox's body shattered into pieces, like the statue had done earlier. All her expensive jewellery, her costume, and her hair fell apart, and the body left behind reverted back to its primordial ooze...leaving nothing part than a destroyed work that had one been an inviting piece of European art.

"Alright!" Shintaro squealed. He ran into Kohaku's arms, hugging her close. "We did it!"

"I knew we could do it...but when we used our magic together, I could feel it!"

"...That was tough. I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks, both you." Kei said, sending her katana back.

"No problem." Shintaro said. Looking at the two girls, he felt a close bond with them. It had been difficult getting their bearings in this new realm, but now they had resolved this 'anomaly', and could return.

"What was up with that Bella Donna thing, though?" Kohaku said. "She wasn't making a lot of sense."

"She said 'now that I'm a Shadow'." Shintaro said, curious. "What exactly does that mean?"

"I can only speculate, but...these Shadows and our Persona may come from the same origin." Kei said. "From the human psyche."

"What?!" Kohaku said. "...How can that be?"

"Hmm." Shintaro said. "Maybe you're onto something, Kei. All these creatures seem to be based on various folklore around the world. Nox is a Roman goddess of the night, her Greek counterpart being Nyx."

"Perhaps Nox was born from the delusions of a woman desperate to be beautiful and rich." Kei mused, staring at the empty spot where the Shadow had been. "Who that woman might be, we might never know."

"I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Let's get going." Shintaro said. Just then, there was a blue flash on the Gnosis, and then a video of rather cliché TV static. "What the hell is  _this_ now?"

"Hey, wait a minute..." Kohaku said, pulling out her own phone. "It's on mine too! What gives?"

"Hmm..." Shintaro said, turning his own. He had the same video, too. It seemed to be a unique instant communications application, but not like the ones he had used. Rather, it seemed to have added his fellow Persona users by their full names, and oddly it had several rows marked '?'. However, the static finally faded, leaving a dark red background behind a completely darkened human figure – a woman, with long hair.

"...The hell is she?" Shintaro said.

"I can't even see her eyes. How does she do that? It's just a black shadow against a wall!" Kohaku said.

"So, Nox has been slain **. I didn't expect that for beginners. Well done. You must all be thinking about returning home now, to continue your everyday lives. Or at least, two of you are. The one newest to the city has never known a normal life in this city. Perhaps they never will."**

"Me?" Kei asked. The woman's voice was being deliberated pitched down, to sounding nothing like a human one – yet the words were still clear.

" **Yes. Kei Kakusa. You are a far more complex soul than any other who has chosen to live here. In fact, it is refreshing to meet someone with my power. Yet as it stands, you are leagues behind me!"**

"What are you talking about? Haku-chan and I have a Persona as well." Shintaro explained.

" **Ah, but Kei-sama is** ** _special_** **."** The woman said, with a cold, cutting sarcastic tone. To use an honorific like that in such a manner was a mark of blatant disrespect.  **"There are many sides to her psyche. She is unique, in countless ways. But you'll find out what I mean in due course."**

"Um...cool." Kohaku said. "But who are  _you_?"

"And how do you know our names?" Kei asked.

" **The Gnosis is tailored to you exactly. It begins by knowing the name of whoever is destined to acquire it. Once it gains more insight into your individual tastes, it will change its visuals, to be whatever you find the most pleasing."**

"These things seem like they've got a mind of their own." Shintaro said. "But you didn't answer. Who are you, and what is happening?"

" **Hmmph, Typical. You always have to know everything and anything about something, don't you? You read a book, you trawl any source you can to understand it further. Essays! Author's biographies! Your thirst for knowledge is utterly insatiable, Taro-kun."**

"Huh...?" Shintaro said. "I'm not your friend!"

"You say that like you know him." Kohaku said. "But what are you? Just a creepy stalker!"

" **...How harsh, Haku-chan. And you always have such a happy face...especially when you're in your bedroom with your headphones on, listening to album after album of your favourite bands. All to hide how much you hate how late your parents come home."**

"...What?!" Kohaku said. "The heck are you saying? How do you know that about us both?"

" **This city was once nothing at all, forgotten in a flash by anyone who set foot here. A new metropolis was carefully designed, with the people of all generations in mind. And at first, it was good. But now things have become unclean. Unenlightened fools have been given the reins, and if I do not stop them, they will take this city back to the depths!"**

"So basically, you're anti-establishment." Kei said, crossing her arms.

" **Correct. You can call me Nisa Liat. Although I've also given myself the title the Pleroma Princess. A title that Shinshuto will come to remember. Over the course of the next week, you will have plenty of time to think on your experiences tonight. Exactly one week from today, I will ask you a question – regarding who you pledge allegiance to. After which, you will either be very blessed children...or very foolish death seekers."**

"...Fine." Kei said. "We'll play your game, Nisa Liat. And we'll win."

"What?!" Kohaku said. "This is dangerous! We can't go along with this..."

"I'm against this!" Shintaro said. "Whatever madness the Princess is plotting, I'm having none of it!"

" **At ease, Taro-kun. You still have time to decide. Shinshuto City cannot continue to 'prosper' in this way. One way or another, I will depose those responsible for its decay. Once that is done, I guarantee you will all enjoy the wondrous lives you deserve. Now then, my time is running short. Don't forget, one week from today. I will make the call. Go home, and enjoy this school year. It could be your last."**

With that, the screen went black, and there was a blue text box reading 'CALL ENDED', with the duration of the call blinking at the bottom. To the right hand said of that was an image of a floppy disk, indicating that the call had been saved to each Gnosis as a 'Cloud of Kosmos Video File'.

Shintaro couldn't stop shaking. That unknown woman, whose voice and face were completely hidden. How far was she willing to go to have what she sought? If they rejected her, would they ever be safe?

"Please, don't. Please don't say we're coming back here!" Kohaku said. "I don't want to be part of this! I just want to go back to school! This shouldn't happen to us..."

"Well, it has." Kei said. "And I don't like it any more than you. But this Nisa Princess could be very powerful. Especially if she has a Persona like us. We might have to practice using this power."

"In case we have to use it against others? Like the Princess?" Shintaro asked.

" _Others_?" Kohaku asked, frightened. "Don't say stuff like that! I don't even want to think that a psycho like her has supporters!"

"It's a possibility nonetheless, Kohaku-san." Kei said. "At the very least, she has some control over these Shadows. And that Bella Donna thing was only another minion. I wouldn't want to have no means to counter her army..."

"It'll be okay, Haku-chan." Shintaro said. "I'll...I'll protect you. Like we promised."

"Promise?" Kei asked.

"It's a promise between the two of us." Kohaku said. "We made it before we started high school last year. It's kind of a secret, though."

"Of course. Sorry to pry... Let's get back to our Kosmo. Akari's no doubt worried sick." Kei said. "Come on, upstairs."

The trio ventured up to the food court again, scanned the QR code, and were suddenly back in the busy food court of the Bella Donna that was familiar to them.

**|Akartharto Kosmo - Bella Donna – Golden Dining Palace|18:50 pm|**

At long last, Shintaro could hear the sounds of others talking, making idle conversation, while eating and drinking their meals. Relieved, he saw Kohaku and Kei next to him.

"Looks like we're all back." Kohaku said. She looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed them mysteriously appear.

"No one seems to have noticed us suddenly reappearing." Kei said, confused. "...I don't understand."

"Me either. Unless no one gives a shit if we vanish right in front of them and reappear later, it probably means this Gnosis thing lets us go between each Kosmos without drawing attention to ourselves. Which is convenient, I guess...but really crazy." Shintaro said. "Hang on. Where's Akari? And how long were we gone for?"

"It's nearly seven, so about an hour, I think." Kohaku said. She took out her phone, and checked her messages. "Weird, I don't see any messages from her..."

"What, really? Is she okay?" Shintaro asked.

"Let's look for her, and -"

"Sorry I'm late!"

There, looking somewhat sheepish, was Akari, holding a bag from the pet store downstairs.

"Huh?" Shintaro said. "But, we were the ones who -"

"I was in the bathroom, then I remembered! The pet store here are hiring! I need a job, and...well, I got talking to the shop manager, and one thing lead to another, and now I'm gonna work at the Pet Friends on weekends!"

"So you were getting a job the entire time we were...um...looking for you?" Shintaro asked.

"Well, there was this really cute chinchilla there, and I hardly ever get to see those, so...sorry!" Akari said, embarassed.

_So she never even knew we were gone? At least it avoids having to explain what happened to us. I'm not even sure I could come up with an excuse._

"Hey, um...it's fine, right? A job is job!" Kohaku said, smiling.

"Exactly. Let's get home." Kei said.

"Yeah." Shintaro said. "I'm tired today...phew."

The group left the mall, heading towards the busy bus top. While Akari chatted enthusiastically about looking after her friend's rabbit, Shintaro couldn't help but think about what they had just witnessed.

_This Persona ability. It's real, isn't it? Then soon enough, I'll have to use it again. For how long, though? I don't want to fight...all I am is a student who loves to read. I'm no warrior. But I can't just let Kei and Kohaku do all the work. Nisa Liat won't let me off that easily, either..._

"So how's the new phone, Kei?" Akari asked, innocently.

"It's powerful, alright." Kei said, exchanging knowing looks with Shintaro and Kohaku. "I'm going to have to see just what exactly it's capable of."


	6. Anguished Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group survived their first foray into the Theio Kosmos, a bizarre alternate side to their Shinshuto City. Having awakened to their Persona ability, the three Kansei High School students have survived the night, and returned to their homes. Yet over the next month, the team must face the threat of Bythos head on, as well as an unpleasant chapter of Shintaro and Kohaku's past that saw the end of a once-strong friendship. Not only do Bythos have their grunts, such as the Claret Squad, but their Aeon Administrators rear their head...

  **Arc I: Torn Pages**

* * *

_Yet another cog has been added to our machine._

_The complete rebirth surely cannot be far from now._

_The world beyond these barriers will bear witness to our true might._

_Yet this new card is far different than I could ever have imagined._

_Although she doesn't realise, her gift is one of many faces._

_It may be a dim possibility for now, but t_ _here is a chance she could overpower me._

_If that were to happen, everything would be for naught._

_This land would erode completely. Its remains w_ _ould be swept up in the tides,_ _and this country would forget these very people._

_I, Nisa Liat, must never allow that to happen._

_I have no choice but to continue with our complete rebirth. It is my destiny, ever since I lost everything that day..._

_You wait and see, Kei Kakusa._ _I will test that you are mine._

_Why don't I start by diving into the past of one of your new friends...?_

* * *

**|Nakahara Household|7:12 am|**

After returning home, the previous evening, everything felt so normal. Shintaro spoke to his parents about his first day back at school, and mentioned Kei, but tried his hardest not to reveal anything about the other world. If his parents got involved, after all, Bythos wouldn't have mercy. He hoped Kohaku and Kei wouldn't tell anyone either. It was strange enough as it was without having to explain it to other people.

Now, refreshed after a good night's sleep, he was in the family kitchen, with his beloved parents Eriko and Takuya.

"Shintaro-kun, did you sleep well last night?" Eriko asked her son, as she served up a nutritious breakfast, that consisted mostly of fresh fruit and raisin bread. A dietitian who worked with the local hospital, she fussed over all of her son's meals.

"Yes, mum. Thanks for breakfast." Shintaro said. His Gnosis was carefully hidden in his schoolbag. The less his parents knew about the previous evening, the better.

"It's a shame you missed out on dinner last night. Well, at least you kept Kohaku company." Takuya said. He was reading the news on his own computer tablet, a story about education reforms. As a teacher himself at the nearby elementary school, he liked to be on top of anything relating to learning. "I hope you're making that transfer student feel welcome, too."

"Oh, Kei-san?" Shintaro said. "She's doing well, I think. She already made three friends in one day."

"That's nice." Eriko said. "Perhaps we should invite Kohaku over for dinner one night. That poor girl, she must never get a home-cooked meal. I've told her mother, working so much can't be good for her, but they never listen."

"Maybe I'll ask her if she can make it this week." Shintaro said. "How about Friday night?"

"Sure thing, son." Takuya. "How long has it been since you two became friends?"

"Since we were six." Shintaro said, happily.

Eriko smiled, as she served some fresh orange juice. "It's lovely to see you getting on so well after all these years. Just don't forget to focus on your schoolwork, okay?"

"What are you worried about, Eriko?" Takuya said. "This boy studies for fun. And even when he's not studying, he's reading something. He's going to go far. Trust me."

"I don't doubt that for a moment. I just worry...there's so many distractions for young people these days." Eriko said. "But my son won't fail. Right?"

"Of course. I'll keep going as I always do!" Shintaro said.

_Although I never had to worry about 'Shadows' and 'Personas' until last night..._

**|Kansei High School – Entrance|8:21 am|**

Shintaro was walking towards the school gates, his trusty backpack filled to the brim with textbooks, when he saw Kohaku and Akari standing by the bike rack, talking loudly.

"I tought Akiko how to sit last night! Took me long enough...but I can do it!" Akari said, giddy with excitement.

"What's all this?" Shintaro asked, amused.

"Akari's dog, remember?" Kohaku said, grinning.

"Oh, that's great!" Shintaro said, remembering the many pictures of the young Shiba Inu. "She still licking your mum's shoes?"

"Yeah..." Akari said, annoyed. "How can she get so mad at the cutest dog in the world? My parents just don't get what looking after animals means to me."

"She's still young. Once she's older, she'll leave your mother's clothes alone." Kohaku said.

"I could probably find you some good books on dog training, actually. By the way, is Kei around?" Shintaro asked.

"Oh, I think that's her over there." Kohaku said, pointing behind them. True enough, Kei was approaching them, and waved.

"Hey!" Akari said, cheerily. "So, how are you getting used to this place?"

"Oh...it's been fun, so far." Kei said. "I've only really explored Totsuka so far. But we'll get there, one step at a time."

"Guess Totsuka is the core of the city, kinda. Best to start from there." Akari said. "Oh yeah, Suzu – a friend of mine, she's in Class 2-3? Her new homeroom teacher is going to be teaching us Geography, and apparently he's really hot. Last year, it was some old guy who barely had any teeth and wore terrible argyle sweaters. And he wore a really nasty looking wig, too."

"What happened to this...teacher?" Kei asked, trying to picture this man.

"No one really knows." Kohaku said. "Before the end of our first year, he just announced he was retiring. That was it...everyone kind of forgot about him."

"Who cares about that old loser?" Akari said dismissively. "This new guy sounds really cute, according to Suzu. Course, she says that about a lot of guys. Even...uh...better not blab."

"Wisely said. Let's head to class." Kei said.

"Oh, okay!" Akari said, running ahead.

"So, apparently this new teacher is a hunk." Kei said, pondering this. "Do a lot of students teacher harbour affections for their teachers?"

"N-No! Suzuki-sensei is just...such a good teacher. That's all." Shintaro said, embarassed.

"Who said anything about her?" Kei said, looking sideways at a giggling Kohaku.

"Stop teasing him! It's not just him, after all. Suzuki-sensei is popular with a lot of the boys here. What are we doing about last night, anyway?"

"Ah, that." Kei said. "Well, if it's okay with the two of you, I'd like to return to the Theio Kosmos. But this time, I'd venture outside of the mall. Not very far, of course. I just want to see what else changes in the other Kosmos."

Shintaro looked at her, nervous. "What if there are Shadows worse than that Nox thing?"

"I wouldn't expect the ones around that area to be much stronger." Kei said. "We'll take things slowly, but at the same time, I want to make sure we're getting stronger. Otherwise, Nisa Liat might just get her way."

"We can't let that happen." Kohaku said. "Come on, Akari's probably wondering where we are. Unless she's gotten another part-time job."

"Heh..." Shintaro, laughing slightly, walked into the school with the girls. Yet in the back of his mind, the memories of last night swirled around in his head. Those monsters called Shadows were brutal. But Bythos no doubt had even stronger power than Nox up their sleeves...

**|Class 2-1 – Geography|10:54|**

The class had finished Biology, taught by Mrs Suzuki. Next was their Geography lesson, and the class were abuzz.

"I hate this subject..." Akari said.

"Really? I thought you liked travelling?" Kei asked.

"I do, but - wait, how did  _you_  know that?" Akari asked, confused.

"Oh, uh, Kohaku mentioned it. Something about a trip to Nara." Kei said.

_Really? I don't remember her saying that... But then again, last night was kind of crazy._

The door opened right on the dot, and there was their new teacher. He did catch the eye of a few female students, Akari included. Yet for Kohaku and Shintaro, he stood out, for a far different reason. In a crisp black suit, complete with blue tie, was a tall man with red hair, slicked back. Judging from the ring on his finger, he had married since the last time Shintaro and Kohaku had seen him.

"Good morning, class. My name is Hideki Yoshinaga. I'm new to this school, so I'm looking forward to working with you...all." He trailed off, however, as he saw Shintaro and Kohaku sitting next to each other. "Today, we're covering some material on Hawaii..."

The lesson continued, but while the other students continued, Shintaro barely took any detailed notes. He wasn't usually like this. He loved taking in as much as he could from any lesson possible. But this time was different.

_Shit...the Yoshinaga family coming back to haunt us, after all this time?!_

"Let's see...ah. Kakusa-san, right?" Mr. Yoshinaga asked. "What's the largest of the main eight islands of Hawaii?"

Kei pondered this for a second. "Uh...Big Island, sir."

"Correct. Well, officially, it's the Island of Hawa'ai. But that's a bit confusing, hence the Big Island. Hawaii itself is part of the Polynesian subgroup of Oceania. I wonder how far I'll go if I ever get there...hehe."

"Oh god, I got  _so_  sick of hearing that song." Akari said.

"Let it go." Kei said, sticking her tongue out. Akari laughed, somewhat loudly, and Mr. Yoshinaga joined in.

The class continued, covering the basics of Hawaii. While normally Shintaro would have loved learning about this state, a plague of unpleasant memories were taking hold of him. He barely wrote down anything, instead looking out the window.

"Taro-kun..." Kohaku said, gently. "People are starting to look at you. Try to keep it together."

"I...I'll try." Shintaro said. Try as he might, he couldn't lose himself in his studies. Not this time. Finally, the lesson ended, and it was time for lunch.

**|Lunch|12:05 pm|**

"Wow." Kei said, admiring Akari's colourful bento box. "That's the cutest lunch I've ever seen."

"I know, right? It's a shame to eat it...but I'm so hungry!" Akari said. "So, what's going on with you, Shintaro?"

"H-Huh?" Shintaro asked.

"You were acting kinda weird during class. Like you were about to burst into tears." Akari said.

"You could tell that when his back was turned to you?" Kei asked, curious.

"I've got an eye for these things." Akari said. "So, what's up?"

"Um..." Kohaku said, nervously. "Shintaro, should we tell them?"

"Is it about Yoshinaga-sensei?" Kei asked.

"In a way." Shintaro said. "...Not so much him. He hasn't done anything wrong."

"It's..." Kohaku began. "His family. We...used to go to school with his brother and sister. They were twins."

"Oh, really?" Kei asked, intrigued.

"Y-Yeah." Shintaro said. "We first met them in elementary school. We were friends, at least I thought we were..."

He suddenly realised – there were tears around his eyes. Quickly, he wiped them away, but the others had seen him.

"Masato and Natsumi. Those were their names." Kohaku continued. "She always used to give me clothing ideas. I really liked hanging out with her when we were kids. And Shintaro and Masato used to play together all the time."

"So what happened?" Akari said.

"Well, it was in..." Shintaro began, shaking. "I don't...want to talk about it."

Akari and Kei looked at each other, awkwardly, and the four of them continued to eat in silence.

"Oh...um...forget about that for now." Akari said. "Oh, there's this cool card magician from here that's doing some shows. Maybe we should watch him sometime?"

"Card magician?" Kei asked.

"You know, card tricks. Like, 'was your card the Ace of Spades'?" Akari said. She pulled up the performer's page, and showed the group. Shintaro, desperate for a distraction, took a look. The page was dark and monochrome, but he could see that this was a tall, handsome man with a sharp suit. His long black hair was tied back in a ponytail that one could make out just behind him, with a full fringe. In his hands were four playing cards, the Aces.

_Hmm. He's kinda dour looking for a guy that's supposed to be entertaining people. Lots of moon imagery on this page, too._

"Keiya Tsukino, host of  _Cards by Moonlight._ How appropriate." Kei said, reading the page. "Looks like he's got a lot of performances on."

"He's sure popular. Look at all the comments." Shintaro said. The vast majority of them were full of praise, all from a growing number of fangirls. "Certainly got the female audience, anyway."

"Obviously! He's so cute! He used to act in Kabuki, apparently. He's so dark and mysterious..." Akari said. "I can't wait to see him live!"

"He does seem intriguing. Where about does he perform?" Kei asked.

"According to this, the Shinuta Hall in Mizuho. It's east from Totsuka." Akari said. "Anyway, it says here that Keiya graduated from the Taho Gakuen College of Drama and Music with honours, and..."

The conversation continued in a similar vein, with Akari gushing over 'Keiya-sama' every so often. Shintaro normally would have sighed in disbelief, but this time he was glad for the distraction.

It kept him from thinking back to that disastrous last day of middle school.

**|School Gates|3:32 pm|**

The school day was over, and Shintaro was leaving the building with the other schools. However, he saw two familiar faces waiting outside – and gasped at one of them.

"What's wrong?" Kei asked.

"It's him." Shintaro said, furious. "Masato Yoshinaga..."

Sure enough, clad in the green blazer of Chieki Academy, was a tall, athletic looking boy with red messy hair. His round face and wide eyes hadn't changed a bit. Next to him, as usual, was a girl, whose hair bore the same vibrant hue, but was much longer, tied up into a large, thick ponytail via a fetching white ribbon.

"You mean Hideki's brother?" Akari said. "...And that girl next to him. She's the sister?"

"Yeah...Natsumi." Kohaku said. Masato froze. It didn't seem like the twins had noticed them, but Shintaro didn't want to get any closer. Not again.

"...You're scared of him, aren't you?" Kei asked.

"N-No!" Shintaro snapped. "I just can't deal with it all over again. What he did..."

"Just what did this Masato guy do to you?" Akari asked. "You can tell us!"

"Akari, if it's too painful for him to talk about it, then -"

"Stop it!" Shintaro said, shutting his eyes, in anguish. "I...I just want to put it all behind me."

"It's okay, Taro-kun." Kohaku said. "Let's wait until they're gone. Oh, there's Hideki...they were probably waiting for him."

The four of them quickly moved over to the bicycle rack, avoiding eye contact with their teacher. He didn't seem to notice them, however, and waved enthusiatically to his twin siblings. Cheerfully, they waved back, and ran up to him. Shintaro's heart was pounding. One wrong move, and he would have to look that boy in the eye again.

_You won't make high school hell for me! I won't let you! Middle school was enough!_

"...Looks like they're leaving together." Akari said. "Anyway, I'm gonna go home. See you guys later." With that, Akari grabbed her pink bicycle, and left the school.

"I'm sorry, you two." Shintaro said. "I didn't want to see you like that."

"They're at a different school, so you shouldn't have to see him too much. Is Chieki far from here?" Kei asked.

"I think it's in Mizuho as well...don't think I've been near it. And I'm not going anywhere near it now." Kohaku said. "How about we head to the Theio Kosmos now?"

"Well, as much as I enjoyed almost getting killed last night...sure." Shintaro said.

"With a Persona, you should be able to hold your own against the Shadows." Kei said, firmly. "We know what to expect now. We don't have to go very far."

"Alright. Let's get the bus." Kohaku said. The three quietly made it to the bus, ready for the second trip to the mall in two days.

**|Bella Donna Shopping Centre|16:19 pm|**

As with yesterday, the place was bustling with shoppers, some of which were high school students. Standing by the gate were two boys, loudly chatting away.

"Dude, have you seen the stuff Bythos are coming out with?" A brown haired student said, looking at his phone. "Apparently Mayor Yamazaki isn't as squeaky clean as he thought. They're demanding he reveal his secrets."

"This again...what secrets?" said a very bored student with black hair.

"Something to do with fixing the election results a few years back. Isn't that hilarious?" The more excitable student said. "I knew that guy was too good to be true! So over the top with his big speeches! Y'know, about how this is going to be another capital of Japan!"

"You done...?" The other boy said.

"Oh, come on! What about them talking about the big cover-up at Hanashima Hospital?" The eager boy said. "Apparently the Chief of Police didn't have an 'accident' after all...they were trying to silence him cause he 'knew too much'."

"To be honest, I kinda wanna do the same to you." The unfriendly 'friend' said, looking up at the sky.

"It's nice to see true bonds blossoming in this city." Kei said, deadpan, as they walked away from the two boys. "What was that about the Chief of Police?"

"Kazuo Shimomata. He's a good friend of my father, ever since they met at some rally before I was born." Kohaku said. "He's a kind man, and excellent at his job. My family doesn't get together for dinner very often, but he used to come around every weekend. I was planning to visit him after school later this week."

"He got involved in a car accident last month." Shintaro said. "Didn't think it was that serious, though...but Bythos seem to think differently."

"Surely they're making it all up, right?" Kohaku said. "He's devoted his life to serving this city. The government wouldn't want to just get rid of him!"

"I hope you're right...if these are just rumours, then Bythos are even more vile than I thought." Kei said. She pulled out her Gnosis, as they reached the foot of the stairs to the second floor. "Oh, hold on. Another notification."

Shintaro checked his own, which he had stuck in his bag. His parents would be suspicous if he suddenly showed such a sleek looking smartphone off – after all, it had cost them a lot to buy his 'normal' phone. The message said:

**AEON PATHWAY**

**Thank you for making use of the Gnosis.**

**To make sure of the Aeon Pathway, after scanning the QR code of a location, you need not scan it again.**

**The destination will be saved onto your list of Allowed Places and as long as you are in the vicinity of the location marked via the map displayed on screen, you can launch the application and travel back and forth between the Kosmos.**

"That's kinda handy, actually." Kohaku said. "Saves us having to stake out that table. We could have dinner after this, though. There's a good burger stand we could try!"

"Aren't your parents going to be annoyed about you missing dinner again?" Kei asked.

"My parents always eat out when they're at work. It's no big deal." Kohaku said.

"My folks don't really complain too much, as long as my grades stay as normal." Shintaro said. "Oh, wanna come round for dinner on Friday? My parents said it's okay!"

"Of course, Taro-kun!" Kohaku said. "I love it when your mother cooks! I'll have to bring a gift, of course. She likes those enka albums, right? I've got a few lying around somewhere."

"Sounds like it'll be a good night." Kei said, smiling. Yet, she looked a little sad as well. Perhaps, Shintaro thought, she was envious.

"Hey, Kei?" Shintaro asked. "Maybe you can come around some time. I'll ask my folks."

Kei, surprised, looked at him in the eyes. "Really? I don't want to be a bother for your parents..."

"Don't be silly! Shintaro's mum loves cooking for big parties." Kohaku said. "If anything, we should invite everyone we can think of. Akari would love someone else to show pictures of her dog to."

"You're so kind, both of you..." Kei said. "I was so scared I'd never make friends here...I didn't have many back in Yokohama."

"Well, as long as you're in Shinshuto, you can count on us. Right, Haku-chan?" Shintaro asked.

"Right!" Kohaku said. "C'mon, let's try this app out. Here...we...go!"

The three of them activated the app, and disappeared to the other Kosmos. Despite the shoppers walking in all directions around them, not one seemed to notice them disappear. The Gnosis had a power to alter people's perceptions, it seemed.

Yet, three youths had witnessed them disappear from a distance, hiding in a dark corridor leading to the restrooms. Each of them were dressed in thick red coats and black trousers, and had varying weapons hidden in on their persons.

"Holy shit! Did you see that?!" A boy said. This boy was over six foot tall and muscular, with a shaved head exposing his various tribal tattoos. He also had half of his left ear missing, seemingly bitten off during an altercation.

"Yeah, bro, I did. I didn't know they were part of Bythos too." Another boy said. He was shorter than the other boy, with carefully curled light brown hair. "Wait, they were in Kansei clothes. Did we have anyone in that school?"

"Nope. That geek and the two dumb bitches aren't anywhere in our league, I bet." The girl of the three said, hands on her hips. She wore thick red lipstick and matching eyeshadow, with small stud earrings. Her hair was black, and rather shiny. "But let's check them out. The Princess won't have mercy if we fail to investigate."

"Good point. I'd like to live a bit longer than the last guy, thanks." the first boy said, shuddering.

"Then we should hurry." The second boy said, anxious.

"I've been waiting to use these on somebody...they're way sharper than the old ones." The girl said, with an evil grin, looking at the knives in the holsters around her waist. They took out a smartphone each, with a similar design to the Gnosis. However, these were a blood red model. Via the same app that had been used moments ago, they vanished, and the rest of the civilians wandering through the mall were none the wiser.


	7. Claret Clash

**|Theio Kosmos – Totsuka - Yorokobi Boulevard|16:49 pm|**

Fortunately, the group appeared to have avoided drawing the eye of any Shadows. With haste, however, they started to leave the area, walking through the deserted streets. Outside of the mall, the environment didn't seem too different, yet there was no traffic, only parked cars.

Before long, the trio had reached Yorokobi Boulevard, named after a historic clock tower that could be seen in the distance. Normally, it was a vibrant building, that lit up at night, yet here it was a dark, grim looking building with an eerie lilac clockface. Usually, the golden seconds hand would be moving, but the time appeared to have frozen at 4:44 pm – not exactly a lucky time.

"Creepy..." Kei said. "That clock usually works in the normal world, right?"

"Yes, it's always well maintained. I've never seen it quite like this before. Is it just me, or does it look a little slanted?" Kohaku asked.

"Now that you mention it – oh, god. Shadows!" Shintaro said, checking the Gnosis.

As the phone displayed, two Shadows were nearby, looking for blood. A pair of Pixies, both eager to play. Their targets did not care for fun and games, however.

"Go! Ostara!" Kei shouted.

"Airmid, protect us!" Kohaku chanted.

"Be brave, Ogma!" Shintaro cheered.

The first Pixie was dispatched, vanishing in a mass of dark blood. The second one, however, had been struck down – and was looking up at Kei, pleadingly.

**"Wait...wait!"**  She begged.  **"You're not like all the others! So I'm gonna be nice for once and let you in on something! You have the power to use more than one Persona!"**

"What?" Kohaku asked.

"Is...this what Nisa Liat meant?" Shintaro asked.

"I can use other Personas than Ostara?" Kei asked.

**"Not just me! Tons of us!"**  Pixie said.  **"Even though you're new, there's tons of Shadows around here. If you can persuade us, we can become another part of you a Persona! Some of us are harder to negotiate with than others, but you learn by doing."**

"I see...then will you please join me? I want to see how this works." Kei said. "I'll take good care of you, I promise."

**"Yay! I'm so happy! Well, I guess you kinda already know, since my name shows up in your phone and all, but I'm Pixie. Let's play for a while! It'll be fun, I promise! Teehee!"**  She giggled, hand over her mouth, then vanished in a burst of blue smoke. In her place was a card, and on the front side was a picture of her in front of the image of the 'Lovers' Arcana.

"I wasn't expecting this...hmm." Kei said. She moved to take the card, but instead it flew straight into her Gnosis. "Huh?"

"Whoa! What was that?" Shintaro asked.

Kei showed her Gnosis to everyone, and in a bright blue textbox, another App appeared.

**Well done, Kei Kakusa. Your potential is unlike your teammates. Ostara is not the only Persona at your disposal. The Pixie you've obtained will be yet another mask for you to wear during battles. This is the Wild Card power, an ability to wear hundreds of possible different masks, whether they be violent demons or merciful goddesses.**

_Kei can use more than one Persona? And me and Kohaku can't?_

"So it's for real, them. I can something different inside of me..." Kei said, hand over her heart. "It's different from Ostara. It's amazing."

"Osatar and Pixie...incredible." Shintaro said.

"I wouldn't consider them incredible just yet." Kei said. "Still, it's a little daunting..."

"Kei, are you alright?" Kohaku asked. "This Wild Card power isn't dangerous to your health, is it?"

"I don't think so." Kei said. "On the contrary, being able to use a Persona at all indicates a strong will. At least, that's how I see it. I'm not sure why I'd have this Wild Card thing while you two don't, though..."

"Either way, it'll give us a decisive edge in battle." Shintaro said, enthusiastically. "Let's keep going. I want to see this Wild Card power in action."

"Very well. I'll be relying on both of you as well." Kei said, smiling.

The trio made their way down the road. It was quite odd to see the streets bereft of civilians and vehicles. To be able to just walk on the road like this was an experience Shintaro never imagined. Of course, neither did he expect to have the power to conjure a Celtic deity.

The Shadows they faced on the way to the clock tower were similar to ones already fought, but there were several new faces, namely Agathion (Magician), Strigoii (Death), Sudama (Temperance), and Kabuso (Hermit). Fighting them was difficult at first, without knowing exactly what they were capable of. Yet Kei seemed able to talk each one down once they had been weakened, and persuaded them to become part of her.

"My stock is full..." Kei said, scrutinizing her phone. "It says I can only hold up to six for the time being."

"That's still more than I have." Kohaku said, impressed.

"Yeah!" Shintaro said. "Although, I'm still struggling to figure out what these Shadows are..."

"If they can become a Persona, they might be linked to human thoughts and feelings." Kohaku said. "I wish we could study them in more detail, though."

"What, like dissect them in Science?" Kei asked, grinning. "It'd be pretty cool to find out what their internal organs looked like!"

"Uh, let's not go crazy!" Kohaku said, squeamish. "What do you want to do now?"

"I'm not feeling too worn out yet." Shintaro said. "Let's go check out the clock tower, then we'll go."

The group continued on their way to the clock tower, keeping vigilant of Shadows.

**|Wakui Road|17:23 pm|**

On the street just before Yorokobi, however, another group had been waylaid by hordes of Shadows. With effort, they had managed to clear through most of them – and the group's leader, a vicious girl fond of knives, had just landed the finishing blow on the last Shadow.

**"Tch...you beat me without a real Persona. I must be more pathetic than I thought. Well, if anyone asks, tell 'em I put up a good fight. See ya..."** A Melchom uttered weakly, dying from its wounds.

"Dammit, these Shadows! Why'd you have to get in our way?" The girl with the knives said, grimacing. "Those damn kids just keep eluding us."

"Do you know what the word 'eluding' means?" The more refined boy, who used a spear in battle, asked, with a smirk.

"Oh, fuck you! Don't forget that they put me in charge of you two." The girl said. "Damn. If only we were like the Princess and her eight Disciples."

"Yeah, well, we ain't." The thuggish boy said. "But y'know, the Personas we got aren't bad."

"You got a point...for once." The girl said. "After all, I wouldn't have been able to get rid of the old man without Moh Shuvuu."

"But if those three from Kansei have genuine Personas, are we even going to be able to fight them on an even playing field?" The refined boy said, concerned.

"It won't be easy..." The girl said, frowning. "But they've only fought weaklings so far. We've had some proper combat training. We'll take them on, report back to the Princess, and then we can grab a drink to celebrate."

"Sounds good to me." The brute said. "Let's go hunting them down! Our first big job as the Claret Squad!"

The three youths made their way, following the same route their adversaries had – with a bloodlust that even the Shadows hadn't yet matched.

**|Yorokobi Clock Tower|17:34 pm|**

"Hey, look at this..." Shintaro said, pointing at the tower's entrance. It was another QR code, almost camouflaged within the dark purplish wooden doors.

"Hmm." Kohaku said. She scanned it, and waited for the result. "Looks like we've added another destination to our list. I can transmit the data to all the Gnosis in my contact list, it says..."

"Did you add either of us to that list?" Kei asked.

"I don't remember, but...it's got your names here." Kohaku said. She tapped the screen, and the data appeared on both addresses.

"So if we come near this clock tower, we can go back and forth between the Kosmos?" Shintaro asked.

"Probably." Kei said. "I wonder how many of these codes there are in this city..."

"Wonder if we can teleport between each one, too." Kohaku asked. "Wait, hang on – look at this?"

**Now that you have two destinations saved, you'll be able to go to any saved location by going to the specified Warp Sphere. For 'Bella Donna Shopping Centre', this will be the centre of the ground floor. For 'Yorokobi Clock Tower', this will be the entrance to the tower itself. This will allow you to travel throughout Shinshuto City much faster via the Theio Kosmos. However, some destinations will not be accessible until you grow in strength.**

"Interesting." Kei said. "Let's test this right now. Are we ready?"

"Yeah!" Shintaro said.

"Let's go!" Kohaku said.

Within moments, the three of them were gone, having been taken straight back to the mall.

**|Bella Donna Shopping Centre|17:36 pm|**

"Wow..." Shintaro said. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised by now, but that...worked."

"Then, if we can travel between destinations, and go back and forth between the Kosmos, then...we can save a fortune on travel expenses!" Kohaku said, excitedly.

"That's...your reaction to being able to warp all over the city? I...see." Kei said.

"This is incredible." Shintaro said. "Just think about it. In seconds, we can go from Totsuka, to either Mizuho, Ginumi, Tarumi, Asakita or Hiyashi!

"Would certainly help me get back to the dorm before curfew." Kei said, slyly.

"By the way, Kei." Kohaku said. "What made you choose Kansei High, out of all the schools in the city?"

"Well, there weren't any open places at Chieki Academy. The other schools in this city aren't quite as prestigious. And to be honest, Kansei sounded better to me. The location..." Kei said. "Above all, it allowed me to meet you two."

"Steady on, Kei, we've known each other for two days." Shintaro said, laughing.

"I know, I know." Kei said. "But I think we're friends already, right? It's comforting to have you two beside me. Akari too, obviously. She's...a lot of fun."

"Just think, had she not gone to the bathroom, she would have ended up in this world too..." Shintaro said.

"Perhaps that was a blessing in disguise." Kei said. "After all, fighting these Shadows isn't exactly easy, especially for us. Akari's a sweet girl, but I'm not sure if she's cut out for combat."

"She's tougher than you think." Kohaku said. "Her parents refused to let her have any pets for a long time. But she convinced them that she would be perfect with a dog. And look at her now. That dog loves her. And Akari loves Akiko more than anything else."

"Do you two have many other friends at Kansei?" Kei asked, curious.

"Well, there are a few other girls at school I get along with, and some of the guys in the music club." Kohaku said.

"Apart from Kohaku, just a few of the people that I see in the library." Shintaro said, awkwardly. "I'm not really a social type...not after what happened in Middle School."

"...I see." Kei said. "That Masato boy...No, I shouldn't ask."

"It's nothing against you, Kei." Shintaro said. "But...what Masato did...I don't think I could ever forgive him for it."

"It's not easy to let go of the past..." Kei said, looking down. "I'm still...struggling with that myself."

"Middle school was years ago. Now that we're in high school, we're going to do our best to move on. We'll go to college. We'll graduate, find work, whatever we want to do." Kohaku said.

"There's no point thinking about the past. For now, let's warp back to the Clock Tower." Shintaro said, Gnosis in his hand. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Kohaku and Kei said. With one tap of his finger, the three were spirited away to the eerie tower...

**|Yorokobi Clock Tower|17:39 pm|**

"Huh?" Shintaro said, to his surprise. There, with their arms crossed, were three rather nasty looking teenagers. Two girls, and one boy. "Whoa! Who the hell are you guys?!"

Kohaku, uncertain, looked at all three of them. "They're definitely humans...but they're not here to make friends."

"Look at that badge on their jackets." Kei said. "It's the Bythos logo. A badge of dishonour, if I'm being honest."

The girl chuckled, motioning for her two male comrades to settle down. "That's cute, lady. You can call me Hisaya. These are Fumihiro and Ryosei." She pointed to the boy with the shaved head, and the more groomed boy respectively.

"Okay, so what...do you want?" Shintaro asked, warily. Right away, he knew these three were trouble. The one called Fumihiro sent shivers down his spine. He looked just like of the jock boys that Masato had sided with during middle school. Except this fellow seemed far more unhinged.

"We saw you going into the Theio Kosmos in Bella Donna." Ryosei said. "You don't even get it, do you? The Gnosis has a special cloaking function that distorts and 'corrects' the vision of any normal fool that would be looking at you. To put it simply, it lets us warp between places without drawing attention to ourselves."

"Yup. But see, when you have a Gnosis yourself, you can look past that function and see what's actually going on." Fumihiro said. "We were trying to follow you, but...there's more Shadows here tonight than we thought."

"Doesn't matter. You were stupid enough to come back here..." Hisaya said. "Let me get to the point. You're obviously new to this whole thing. But you three aren't like us."

"Thank god." Kohaku said, leering at the Bythos girl.

_Why are you so cavalier about this?! These three might kill us if we look at them funny!_

"Funny..." Hisaya said. "But I wasn't done yet." She held up her red Gnosis, to the others surprise. "Not everyone can use a Persona. Why, we dunno. These things come preloaded with a Persona, meaning we get to use the same power in the end."

"So an artificial Persona ability." Kei said. "Are all of Bythos equipped with it?"

"Most of us." Ryosei said. "The Princess, of course, has the real deal. Not to mention the eight Aeon Administrators."

"...Eight?!" Shintaro asked.  _And all of these have a real Persona ability? Can we even take them on?_

"Yup, I counted them last week, and there's definitely eight. They make us do most of the dirty work. Biding their time for the important stuff." Fumihiro said.

"Here's the deal. You come with us, meet the Princess and the Admins, join Bythos and we get to take over the city." Hisaya said. "You refuse, we kill you here and now."

"Oh, such a great offer..." Kei said, disgusted. "You think you can kill us, with your weak powers? Keep that up, you're going to be a stain on my sword."

Hisaya cracked up with laughter, unfazed. "Ah, a badass! Too bad for you two stuck with her. You got a name, girl?"

"I don't introduce myself to those I don't respect." Kei said, angry. Instead, she produced her katana. "You're history!"

"Whoa! We have to fight these people?" Kohaku said, looking at Shintaro. Gulping, he withdrew his own sword, while Kohaku summoned her own weapon, hesitant.

"Hisaya! What do we know of their Personas?" Ryosei asked, his spear in hand.

"I dunno!" Hisaya said. "But we'll take them down. Go! Moh Shuvuu!"

Shintaro gasped. Surrounding Hisaya was a red burst of smoke, much like the blue kind that appeared when he used Ogma. Appearing from her Gnosis was a girl, dressed in warm red clothes, with a sly smile – and her hair and head seemed to be evocative of a bird. Of course, her name literally meant 'Evil Bird'. Moh Shuvuu twirled, and hit Shintaro with Bufu.

"Ow..." Shintaro said. But there was no time to recover – Hisaya was dashing at him, her sharp knives at the ready. Unwilling to let her get at him, he blocked with his rapier. One wrong move, and he could be torn to shreds. "Why do we have to fight like this?"

"What, you trying to get inside my head now? Or you want me to turn myself into the police station? 'I'm sorry for everything I've done, go put me in jail!' Go fuck yourself. I ain't giving you my life story." Hisaya said.

"Nor would I ever give you mine." Shintaro said. "But you can have this instead. Garu!"

A gust of wind blew Hisaya further back. Frustrated, she began clashing blades with Shintaro. No longer panicking, he was starting to figure out a rhythm to her attacks. This was the first time he'd ever had to fight another human being – and he hated it.

"Good job!" Kohaku said. Fumihiro had taken up a fighting stance, however, and managed to punch her across the face. "Hey! What's your problem, pal?"

"My problem?" Fumihiro said. "I fucking hate it when people ask me that – damn!" His rambling had been cut short – literally – by Kohaku's naginata. "That's better! You're not as girly as you look...but I'll beat up anyone who gets in my way. Go, Lham Dearg!"

Kohaku stood back, apprehensively. This ghostly Scottish warrior had blood dripping from his arms, and while he was equipped with a large sword and shield, he had several other weapons and arrows impaled in his torso.

With a stony expression, Lham Dearg took up his sword, and tried to Cleave Kohaku. Crying out in pain, she panicked, and checked herself for blood or wounds. Thankfully, however, having a Persona had made her more resilient to such pain.

"Ugh..." Kohaku said. "You don't want to talk? I don't think I want to hear what you've got to say, anyway. Magna!"

Airmid, while looking dainty in the prescence of Lham Dearg, did not falter. Instead, she struck his master with the power of the earth.

"Bitch! That...that fucking hurt!" Fumihiro said. "Guess your Persona's the real deal..."

"They're in over their heads, you neanderthal. We can still apprehend them. Vodyanik, come forth!" Ryosei cried. This deity was a scaly bald blue-skinned being, with a big nose and a green shell, bearing a long tail.

Bracing herself, Kei summoned Ostara, and at once, each Persona launched into their attacks. While Ostara pulled off a Petal Step, Vodyanik's Sratch was simple, yet effective.

"Ah!" Kei cried.

"Argh!" Ryosei said. "That was a decent move, miss."

"You don't seem as vicious as your allies..." Kei said, looking at the other two in the midst of combat.

"You think so? Eat this!" Ryosei lunged forward with his spear – prompting Kei to roll to his side, and slash him through.

"I don't want anything to do with Bythos. I can't trust them!" Kei said, angry. "Why do you?"

"Oh..." Ryosei said, with an air of self-importance. "I can't stand the way society is these days. The way we young people have to give up everything for a bunch of old folks. All I want is for everything to be broken down, so we can start all over again."

"...That's seriously your outlook?" Shintaro asked.

"That's so simplistic!" Kohaku said, dismayed.

"Shut up!" Hisaya snapped. Moh Shuvuu cast another Bufu, this time on Kohaku. It didn't seem like either of the six people currently engaged in battle had a wide variety of skills, Shintaro mused. At this point he only seemed to have Garu and Blade Strike. That would soon change, he hoped.

"Blade Strike!" Shintaro cried. Ogma, a noble warrior, carved his path through Hisaya, causing her to scream with rage. Trying to attack Kei, her wild flurry of strikes hit her painfully. Shintaro tried to counter, but he was attacked by Lham Dearg's sword.

"That's the thing about fighting. You don't get good by reading about it." Fumihiro said, laughing wickedly.

"At least I  _can_  read." Shintaro said, angrily. "You're just like those bastards from years ago...but this time, I can fight back!"

With great force, he pierced Fumihiro with his own sword. While the boy's punches were strong, Shintaro held on as hard as he could. He wasn't about to lose. Not now.

"Die already!" Ryosei yelled. He and Kei were locked in battle, his spear and her sword clashing. Sparks were flying, brighter than one would expect. Then, all of a sudden, he summoned Vodyanik, who blasted Kei away with Aqua.

"Dammit..." Kei said, struggling to keep up. With lightning-quick taps on her screen, her Persona changed to Agathion, a familiar trapped in a jar. "Zio!"

A jolt of electricity struck Ryosei, causing him to scream in pain and fall to his knees. Kei did not waste this chance – she struck him with her blade, not leaving him a chance to counter.

"No way!" Fumihiro shouted, ducking under Kohaku's naginata. "You...you can use the Wild Card too?"

"Too?!" Shintaro said.

"Damn, this girl's more dangerous than I thought..." Hisaya said. "We can't let her get away!"

"Shintaro, are you alright?" Kohaku said, anxious. Shintaro was about to nod, despite the pain, but yet Airmid arrived to heal him with Dia. At the same time, however, Hisaya used a Dia on Fumihiro.

"Sweet!" Fumihiro said.

"I'll end it!" Ryosei cheered, stabbing at Kohaku. However, using her naginata, she leapt over him and hit him from behind. "Argh!"

"Nice!" Shintaro said, high-fiving Kohaku. "Ogma!"

A powerful Blade Strike hit Ryosei, much to his agony. With Vodyanik, he hit Shintaro with an Aqua – but right then and there, Kei's Zio stopped him in his tracks.

"Argh...I can't..." Ryosei said, dropping to the ground. His Gnosis fell to the ground, the screen cracking. Vodyanik briefly appeared, only to vanish in a puff of red smoke. "Shit..."

"That's just fucking great!" Hisaya screamed. "Not that we needed you anyway. I'll kill you right now!"

Without anything held back, she swung at Kei, desperately trying to cut her to shreds. At the same time, Fumihiro headbutted Shintaro, and dodged a Magna from Airmid. Laughing, he and Lham Dearg launched a fierce Cleave on Shintaro.

_You don't have any other moves? No brains at all. Sure hurts like hell, though..._

"You ain't taking me down that easy!" Fumihiro said. "Kids like you piss me off. I can't stand having to act like someone I'm not. Especially around teachers. Damn, I nearly killed my last one...wish I'd finished him off."

"Killed...?" Kohaku said.

"The police got there earlier than I expected..." Fumihiro said, chuckling. "They were all upset when I tried to resist arrest. Man, the amount of blood in the teacher's lounge! Best day of school I ever had!"

"You're a monster!" Shintaro said, seething. "How can you take pleasure in beating people that way?"

"It's easy...I don't take crap from anybody." Fumihiro said. "I don't have to rely on anyone else anymore. My family disowned me anyway. I'll kill you two right now!"

"No you won't!" Kohaku said. "Shintaro!"

"I got you!" Shintaro said. Airmid and Ogma appeared at the same time. Apprehensively, Fumihiro braced himself, with Lham Dearg readied his claymore. Airmid, with her incantation, summoned a large rock from the ground. Ogma, conducting the winds with his sword as if it were a baton, sent them forth around the stone, which began to break apart and empower the gale.

"Earthern Wind!"

"Shit!" Fumihiro said. Lham Dearg charged through, but unable to take the barrage of wind and stone that was surging through the area, he burst into red smoke, nothing remaining of the ghost warrior of the Highlands. Fumihiro fell to his knees, puunching the ground in agony, as his own phone's screen broke. "No...you were supposed to be tough...but you're just trash...!"

"How the hell did you lose to those newbies?!" Hisaya cried in disbelief. "Why do I have to carry you? The smart one lost, the dumb one lost...I guess I'm the only one worthy of being in Bythos here. Moh Shuvuu! Let's finish this! Mabufu!"

The ghost bird smiled, twirling around, and send her icy chill at all three of her targets. It hurt quite a bit, at least for Shintaro, but he noticed something else. Hisaya seemed to be running low on energy. In moments, this fight would be over.

Kei, preparing herself, ran forward, swinging her blade – without mindless rage, but with clear, tranquil purpose.

"Go to hell!" Hisaya shrieked. She leapt out of the way of Ogma's sword, and narrowly avoided a Magna from Airmid. However, one of Kei's Personas had just what she needed to finish the job.

"Pixie!"

Changing to the red-haired fairy, Kei aimed a fiery Agi. The red hot fire stopped Hisaya's rampage, causing her to drop her knives and her Gnosis. The screen had broken, and the back cover had done so as well.

_Wait a minute. There's nothing inside there. No battery, no SIM or microSD card slot...it's just dark matter?!_

"...No!" Hisaya cried, hastily grabbing her wrecked phone. Moh Shuvuu had vanished, just as the Personas of her allies had done. With her knives across the road, she had no means of offence left. "H-How?! You've only had a Persona for two days! We...we should have wiped the floor with you!"

"It's not that hard to figure out. Your fake Persona simply wasn't enough..." Shintaro said. "Not if you want to impress these admin friends of yours."

"Fuck this shit. Let's just get out of here!" Fumihiro said, anxiously. "We ain't got a chance with our Personas gone!"

"He's right." Ryosei said. "We'll have to make our report...that we ran into unexpected difficulties."

"You stupid bitches are going to pay for what you did to us tonight! Remember that!" Hisaya said, snarling. "As for you, you stupid geek...I'll make sure you bleed extra slowly!"

Hurriedly, the three of them used their damaged, but still operational, Gnosis to disappear, to an unknown location. Shintaro, panting for breath, glanced at both of his comrades, and dismissed his weapon.

"Phew..." Kohaku said. "For a moment, I thought we were done for..."

"Please. Did you think those three were worthy opponents?" Kei asked.

"You weren't scared?" Shintaro asked. "Those three...they were rotten to the core. How could they be so blind as to support Bythos?"

"Who knows?" Kohaku asked. "They're disaffected kids who can't trust authority, so they side with Bythos. Gives them more footsoldiers to throw at us."

"Now we know a little more about their structure. At the top is obviously Nisa Liat, or the Pleroma Princess. What sort of powers she can use, we don't know just yet. Directly below her are the eight Aeon Administrators. But we don't know any of their names, just that they have a genuine Persona like ours. Beneath all of them are their soldiers, the ones with a fake Persona assigned to them." Kei said.

"How many Bythos soldiers could there be?" Kohaku asked. "I hope none of them go to our school..."

"That's something we'll need to be careful of." Kei said. Serious, she looked at her two friends. "We can't discuss this openly at school. If we must discuss it, we should make sure we're not surrounded by people. The less Bythos know about us, the better."

"You've got a point, but...Nisa Liat spoke to us as if we were friends." Shintaro said, shuddering.

"It's creepy...when did we ever meet her?" Kohaku asked. "What happened to her that made her create a group like Bythos?"

"...More than anything, I want to know, too." Kei said, seriously.

With nothing to be gained from standing in front of the clock tower, the three of them returned to the regular Kosmos, appearing directly in front of it in the normal world.

**|Bella Donna Shopping Centre|18:24 pm|**

Kei, Kohaku and Shintaro were exhausted from the fierce battle. Having arrived in the centre of the mall again, they saw a pair of middle aged women walk straight by them, without even batting an eyelid.

"Wow. Right up close and they still don't even notice." Kohaku said.

"Whoever created these things thought of everything." Shintaro, stroking his chin and deep in thought, pulled out his phone. It seemed to have kept a record of all the Shadows he had defeated that day, and had recorded data for the following:

**Name: Hisaya Ueda, Persona: Moh Shuvuu**

**Name: Fumihiro Nishimura, Persona: Lham Dearg**

**Name: Ryosei Mizushima, Persona: Vodyanik**

"The Gnosis knows their full names. Wonder if we could find out anything else by looking them up?" Shintaro asked.

"If our Gnosis could gain their full names, what if theirs could know ours?" Kohaku said, worried. "They could come after us in this Kosmos!"

"I'm not so sure about that. After all, it's not possible to summon a Persona in the Akarharto Kosmos. I checked last night, just to be sure, but nothing." Kei said. "They'd have a difficult job getting rid of us without being noticed."

"True...the Gnosis makes it convenient for them to do whatever the hell they're ordered to do." Shintaro said. "We can't track their exact locations via this phone, so they won't be able to pinpoint ours."

"Even so, I'm worried. What if we run into them here?" Kohaku asked.

"Try not to panic. They're not going to blow their cover that easily. Neither of them go to Kansei, remember? In fact, I'd be surprised if Fumihiro or Hisaya attend any school. Ryosei might, not that I expect him to excel in his studies. Not if Bythos is his idea of an after school club." Kei said.

"Only your second day of school and we've already made some mortal enemies." Shintaro said, amused.

"I never had this trouble in Yokohama, that's for sure." Kei said, grinning. "Which reminds me. There's some great places there you can get cheesecake. If only I could take you two and Akari there sometime."

"Ooh, I love cheesecake!" Kohaku said, happily. "Don't worry. I know a great cafe in Hiyashi with all kinds of cake. It'll be just like home!"

"Sounds good." Kei said. "While we're here, we could get some rice bowls. I'm kind of hungry after today."

The three of them started to head towards the stairs, but to Shintaro's fright, he saw the red-haired boy he had come across earlier that day. Masato, with his sister and older brother.

"It's them again." Kei said. "Should we go somewhere else, Shintaro-kun?"

"No. I'm staying right here." Shintaro said. "After today, I've decided. I can't run from battles, whether with swords or with my mind. If I can handle the likes of Fumihiro Nishimura, then Masato Yoshinaga won't faze me."

The three of them continued to approach the stairs. Masato, upon seeing Shintaro, became flustered and looked away, hesitant to come any closer. For the brief moment their eyes met, Shintaro's flared up with the same rage they had back then. Natsumi seemed similarily reluctant. Hideki, sighing, looked at both of his siblings, but waved warmly at his three students. While Kei waved back, and returned a smile, the other two kept walking straight ahead – yet Kohaku turned around, and her eyes met Natsumi's.

"Natsumi-chan..." Kohaku started to say. She managed an awkward, but earnest smile. Yet she heard Shintaro calling her, and ran off with Kei.

|Bella Donna Shopping Centre – Car Park|18:26 pm|

While Kei and her two new friends had gone to the food court, the three they had passed by were making their way to a flashy new silver car. This belonged to Hideki Yoshinaga, a young but gifted teacher, who was keen to build a rapport with his students.

"You two alright?" Hideki said, with his twin siblings at either side.

"I...I think so." Masato said, slowly.

"I...um...not really..." Natsumi said, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry, Natsumi-chan." Hideki said. "Middle school was a bad time for all of us. Mum still talks about the shame she felt back then. She screamed down that phone so hard, I think she blew up the principal's eardrum."

"I...I didn't think I'd see them again." Natsumi said. "I...I wish I could just say hi, like old times, and then me and Kohaku could go pick out some new clothes...but that's never going to happen again, is it?"

"Listen, sis..." Hideki said, ruffling her hair. "You two fell in with the wrong crowd. I did the same thing myself. More than once, actually. Had to straighten myself out after high school, big time."

"I almost got expelled..." Masato said, downcast. "Why did I have to join in with the other guys? All because I wanted to hang out with the baseball gang..."

"But you weren't expelled, Masato. Mother made sure of that. Sure, she didn't talk to you for weeks after the five hour scolding. Dad wasn't so happy either. But look at you now. You're on track to becoming the best baseball star Chieki Academy has ever had. I know what happened that day still hurts you two. Even if we run into Shintaro and Kohaku again, we can't let it get you down."

"I...I'll try." Masato said. "I just wish I could apologise to him. Not that it'd fix him...it won't bring back his grandpa's book. If I could just tell him, I'm sorry for everything I've done..."

"But it's probably too late now." Natsumi said. "The way he screamed at you, with that book ripped to shreds in his hands? Kohaku was so mad at me, for not trying to stop it from happening..."

"If you two want to make things up that much, then I'll try my best to help." Hideki said. "Maybe that other girl could help you talk to them. I think her name is Kei..."

"That girl with the freaky hair?" Masato asked.

"Oh, she looked so cool! Would she even want to talk to us?" Natsumi asked.

"You don't know until you try." Hideki said, smiling. "I'll think of something."

Uncertain, the twins got into the car – with Natsumi winning the front seat beside her older brother. As they drove out of the parking area towards the family home, Masato gazed out of the window, his mind going back to that fateful day.

_I might not get a chance to fix things between me and Shintaro. He still hates me – I could tell from the way he looked at me. But part of me knows that we could be friends again. And that Kei girl could be ou_ _r last chance._


	8. Beyond the Battleground

**|Kansei High School – Class 2-1|8:24 am|**

The school day was just about to begin, starting with Mrs Suzuki's Biology class. However, after last night's fierce battle against the 'Claret Squad', Shintaro wasn't quite feeling the same zeal for studying as normal. He had looked left and right on his way to school to check if he had been followed. Thankfully, neither of the three delinquents that Bythos had scrounged up were on his tail, and he had made it to school safely.

Kohaku seemed anxious herself. As she was checking her ordinary phone, she yawned, drawing the attention of some of the class.

"That was a pretty big yawn, Kohaku-chan. In fact, you and Shintaro look a little sleepy. You two okay?" Akari asked, staring at her three classmates.

"Yeah, of course." Kohaku said, somewhat sternly. "I didn't sleep that well last night."

"I don't blame you. What with this weird new post Bythos put up." Akari said.

"Huh? Bythos?!" Shintaro said.

"Yeah...lemme show you the news article." Akari said, holding her phone out so the other three could see it.

**Bythos Threat**

**Posted 9 minutes ago**

**On Sunday, Bythos claimed on their website and social media feeds that the Chief of Police, currently recovering from a car accident in Hanashima Hospital in Mizuho, had inside knowledge of undisclosed secrets. They allege that the city council made an attempt on his life.**

**Today, Bythos made the following post at 6:15 am, which has trended and been shared faster than any of their previous messages.**

**"We demand the full truth regarding the city's budget be disclosed. The public deserve to know what truly goes on behind closed doors. Especially if a secret department has been set up without its purpose disclosed. If the council ignores our demands, and we do not have the truth by dawn tomorrow, then we will do whatever must be done as per the Pleroma Princess' wishes. You can choose to sheathe our sword, or watch as we bathe the island of flowers with blood."**

**The council denied these allegations in their statement this morning and urged the public not to be 'led astray' by the group. Shigeru Komatsu, of the Shinshuto City Council, stated the following.**

**"The allegations spouted by Bythos are categorically false and are not based on any facts. The Chief of Police's car accident was purely that, an accident. We wish him a speedy recovery. For the sake of his family and friends, I implore Bythos to retract all of their previous accusations, or else they may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."**

**While the police have begun routine investigations, the names of the members of Bythos have not been made public, nor has the size of their organization been established.**

"That's...unsettling." Kei said. "I wonder if this Komatsu person is fanning the flames..."

"Ah, it's probably just some bored college guy doing this as a joke. Who believes Bythos, anyway?" Akari asked.

"They've got quite a few people singing their praises. Not exactly the sort of people I'd say are of sound mind and body, but even so, if their numbers continue to increase, we could have a real problem on our hands." Kei said.

"...We?" Akari said, confused.

"Yeah! What if people from this school were from Bythos?" Shintaro said. "Or people who you say every day?"

"Don't be stupid!" Akari said, rolling her eyes. "No one in this school would ever be like that. Nor anyone I know. There's no one in my life that's horrible enough to join Bythos."

"I see...well, all Shintaro means is that we shouldn't take Bythos too lightly." Kei said, seriously.

"You guys are worrying over nothing. I bet you anything they'll track down their IP address and find it's just some troll trying to look smart." Akari said.

_Or a crazy lady with god knows how many soldiers at her disposal. I'm sure she wouldn't leave any traces normal people would catch. And she doesn't need to try to look smart. She's playing everything for fools – except us. The three people with a Gnosis that aren't on her side. Unless...there are others like us?_

Kohaku, uneasy, cleared her throat. "So...what are you all doing after school?"

"Me? I'm just going to the supermarket to pick up some supplies, then I'm heading up to my dorm." Kei said. "Nothing that exciting planned. What about you, Akari-san?"

"I'm going for a walk in Midori Park. That's in Mizuho." Akari said. "Then when I get back home, I'm going to take Akiko out for a walk around the neighbourhood."

"Sounds nice." Shintaro said. "Well, I've not got any plans yet. What about you, Kohaku-chan?"

"Nothing concrete, but I want to take a look around Tarumi." Kohaku said.

"Ah, 'Where Harmony Gathers'. As it was described in my travel guide." Kei said, amused.

"What'd it say for Totsuka?" Akari asked.

"Hmm...'Where Greatness Gathers'." Kei said.

"Oh yeah. They've started coming up with slogans like that for all six of the city's wards. Mizuho is 'Where Benevolence Gathers', Asakita is 'Where Happiness Gathers', Ginumi is 'Where Excitement Gathers', and Hiyashi is 'Where Prosperity Gathers'.

"Hmm...I just hope I get to experience all six while I'm here. Greatness, benevolence, happiness, excitement, harmony, and prosperity. This city better live up to expectations."

"I sure hope so." Shintaro said.  _And Bythos better not get in our way._

The school day continued, with the students determined to get through it without incident. The Claret Squad were in hiding...for now.

**|Tarumi Ward – Orchestral Avenue|16:24 pm|**

One of two wards in the city facing the sea, Tarumi had rapidly become known as a destination for theatre-goers, with grand theatres on almost every corner. Most performances were sold out, and there were several lounge bars around playing beautiful piano melodies throughout the night. Everything about Tarumi exuded class. While the other sea-facing district, Ginumi, had the more impressive beach, Kohaku loved Tarumi with all her heart.

"Wow, today was harder than I thought..." Kohaku said, as the Sodai Concert Hall came into view.

"No kidding." Shintaro said. "I don't remember Suzuki-sensei's lectures being so hard."

"Can we really balance being students at the same time as this stuff with Bythos?" Kohaku asked.

"I don't know..." Shintaro said, seriously pondering this. "But we have to try. I refuse to give up. Not after meeting their henchmen last night."

"...I keep thinking. They're out there in our real world, right?" Kohaku asked. "Or do you think they spend all their time in the Theio Kosmos?"

"I want to know how this Bythos group started to begin with." Shintaro said, anxious. "It's like a murder mystery novel..."

"Oh, like that French one you imported the other day!" Kohaku said. "Still can't believe you learned French just to read all of Les Miserables in its original language. I still need subtitles to watch the movie..."

"French is a beautiful language. Most of the Romance languages are..." Shintaro said, grinning. "So what's our plan here?"

"First up, I'm gonna go hit the Sodai Box Office and grab some tickets." Kohaku said. "My mother might have some time off coming up...so maybe me and her can go. But she said that last month, and...well..."

Although she tried to look away, Shintaro knew her too well. Her eyes were welling up, and although she was smiling, it was a half-hearted attempt. One that quickly faltered.

"Hey, don't cry...your parents still love you, right?" Shintaro asked.

"I know that. Really, I do, but it's just..." Kohaku said. "It's not that fun having the house to myself. It's empty...there's no one to hear me practice the flute or piano..."

"Things will get better, right?" Shintaro asked.

"I...I really hope so." Kohaku said.

Soon, they were inside the box office, minutes later, in the queue. Kohaku heard her phone vibrate, and reached for her phone, but accidentally took out her Gnosis. "Oh, woops -"

She quickly put it back in, just as the man in front of her turned around, preparing to leave. Dressed in a red overcoat and black tailored trousers, he was clearly of a high position. Shintaro saw the stern, fierce expression in his eyes, and shuddered a little. His black hair was slicked back, and he had a slight stubble.

"So Dad, are you coming to my audition next week or not? Mom's going..."

There was a boy in a Kansei uniform as well with the man, however his tie was a pale red – indicating he was a first year student. However, he was actually a little taller than Shintaro, with a handsome face and freshly cut brown hair.

"I don't know if I can make it just yet. I'll see what I can do first, of course." The man said, managing a small smile.

"Hope you can make it this time, cause you were a no-show the last three times, and I never even got a call-back for – oh, you two are Kansei too?" The boy asked.

"Yes, that's right. We're second year." Kohaku said, politely. "I'm -"

"Noburo, we've got places to be." The man said sternly. Kohaku frowned at him, while Shintaro gulped.

"Aww..." 'Noburo' said. "Guess I'll see you around at school. Bye!" Leaving, he waved goodbye, and ran after his father.

"Huh." Shintaro said. "Everything's been such a blur with all the Persona stuff. I've not really thought about the first year students."

"I'm sure we'll get a chance to speak to him later." Kohaku said. "I wonder if he's going to see the same show as me?"

Shintaro, confused, looked at her. "Which show was that?"

"Aika Makino." Kohaku said, happily. She pointed to one of the posters on the back wall, behind a rather snooty looking lady at the sales desk. There, standing on stage in front of red curtains, was a petite lady with short white hair. Pale, but with light pink eyeshadow and lipstick, she had a classy look to her. In a silky, flowing deep pink dress, Shintaro admired her beauty.

"Not bad. I don't think I've heard any of her music..." Shintaro said.

"I only just discovered her, actually." Kohaku said. "But she's got a beautiful voice. And she plays all her own instruments. Her new album  _Forest Memories_ is out in a few weeks, so she's doing a few shows to promote it."

"Hmm..." Shintaro said. "I might have to give her a listen."

"It's not the kind of music you'd play if you want to get lost in a book." Kohaku said. "For her music...I kind of want to shut off all my senses. So I can hear every single sound."

"Always the audiophile, Haku-chan." Shintaro said. "Course..." He pulled out a receipt from his pocket, one from a few weeks ago he had forgotten to dispose of. It listed seven different books, each one he had bought 'on a whim'. "I'm the bibliophile."

"Yup. And don't you forget it." Kohaku said, sticking her tongue out. After she paid for the tickets to see Aika Makino's Forest Memoriesshow on the 22nd of April, she and Shintaro left for the nearby cinema, the Great Dominion.

_It's like nothing about Gnosis, Bythos, or Personas ever happened. I just wonder, were we to fail to stop Bythos, what would become of this city? Or ourselves? I don't want to think about that. I just want to see a movie and forget all my troubles._

The two friends entered the cinema, grateful for a day without fighting for one's life. Which was ironic, considering they were going to see a war film.

**|Mizuho – Midori Park|16:16 pm|**

Akari, humming along to a song Kohaku had shared on her social media feed, was walking through Mizuho's Midori Park, a quiet place away from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. Her friend Suzu was out shopping in the many stores that thrived in Hiyashi, but today Akari felt like peace and harmony.

As she walked down a tree-lined path of park, she smiled as she saw some birds flying overhead. Looking around, everything seemed normal in Mizuho, with the Hanashima Hospital close by, and she could make out the Chieki Academy further ahead. A nice place, where everyone seemed to treat each other as friends. People just seemed to be more charitable here.

_Everything's so nice in Shinshuto this year. I wonder why Kohaku and Shintaro looked so stressed by all this Bythos stuff. I know she's at home alone a lot, but the worst that's happened to Shintaro is probably getting a paper cut from a book._

As she reached the wider stone path in front of the pond, however, she saw a group of girls crowded around a tall man in a crisp black suit. Akari gasped. It was Keiya Tsukino, the card magician she was telling Kei about. Seeing him in person was breathtaking, and she blushed at the sight. Alas, it seemed she had arrived at the tail end of the act.

_Aww, I missed the whole show. But wow! He's so calm, cool and collected. And he's kind of gorgeous too. Oh god, I better not say that in front of anyone..._

"Wow!" An obnoxious girl said. "You have  _GOT_  to tell me how you did that!"

"It's all in the cards, madam." Keiya said, with a deep, suave tone. "Ah, a latecomer. It's a pity you missed most of the show."

"It's...it's alright! Maybe next time!" Akari said.

"Now now, since you're here, I'd like to perform at least one card spell for you. Madam, what is your favourite suit of cards?" Keiya asked.

"Um, I guess...Hearts?" Akari said, giggling.

Without a delay, Keiya shuffled his cards. Akari and the other girls watched in awe, as he masterfully glided each card. Finally, he finished. As he did, however, Akari thought she felt her blazer move.

"Excellent. Hmm..." Keiya said. "I have all the Spades...all the Clubs...and all the Diamonds. But as you can see, the Hearts have completely vanished."

"No way!" A girl in a Chieki uniform said. "But I saw them when you were shuffling them a moment ago!"

"Indeed. But they've all vanished. Where could they be?" Keiya said, putting on a mystified air. Akari, hesitantly, put her hand in the right-hand pocket of her blazer.

_Huh?! But...he never even touched me!_

Akari, stunned, pulled out a set of playing cards. Turning them around, she checked – all of the Hearts were there, from 2 to the Ace.

"How...did you do that?" Akari asked.

"Like I said. It's in the cards." Keiya said. "A true magician never reveals his secrets, no matter the phase of the moon."

"I love it when he says that!" The obnoxious girl said.

"Same! LOL!" Her friend said. Akari, while abhorred that someone would actually say 'LOL' out loud, was still amazed at what had just happened. In silence, she gave the Hearts cards back to Keiya, who shuffled them back into his cards.

"I hope you all enjoyed that, ladies. I'll be performing in the Shinuta Hall in Golden Week, with some more advanced favourites of mine on display. I hope to see you all there." Keiya said. He took a bow, and made his way down the forested path.

"Ooh, Keiya-sama! Marry me!" The obnoxious girl said.

"No, not her! Me!" The text-speak friend said.

"I can't blame them. He's such a charmer." An older woman said.

"Indeed. It's strange, though. I'm sure I remember his name from somewhere. Was he in a TV show or something?" Another woman said. "Oh, it'll come to me."

The girls went their separate ways. Akari's heart was pounding, however. How had Keiya pulled off that trick? She had never even met him until today. Only shared a few videos of his online. So he couldn't possibly had arranged this with her beforehand.

She looked down the path, and saw Keiya taking out a phone from his pocket. From a distance, it looked like a stylish, streamlined black model.

"Wait a second. Isn't that the same one Kei has...?" Akari said. Keiya continued walking while looking at the phone. He seemed rather fixated on something, but what, she didn't know. Still confused, she went to her favourite bench, and took her mind off the whole thing by admiring the ducks swimming up and down the pond.

Before long, she was back at her neighbourhood, feeling more relaxed. Upon further reflection she suddenly starting thinking about that Gnosis phone.

_I thought I saw one just like it in Kohaku's bag today. And I swore Shintaro was putting one into his pocket before I got into the classroom. Even Keiya has one. Are these really cool phones that everyone's gotta have? Maybe I ought to look into ordering one online next time I need to order dog food._

With a smile, she came back home, greeted by a stern mother, a tired father, and a rather excitable Shiba Inu puppy.

**|Mizuho - Chieki Academy|16:30 pm|**

In the Mizuho district to the north was the Chieki Academy, a meticulously designed building almost regal in structure. In the school's courtyard, surrounded by a light green strone fence, was a beautiful ancient tree that had been planted when the school was first founded. That had been nearly a hundred years ago, and the tree had grown to a tremendous height and splendour.

Sitting by the tree was Natsumi Yoshinaga, checking her phone, while waiting for her friend. Her brother had left to the baseball practice ground with several friends from school, but she wasn't particularly interested in watching. None of his friends were particularly cute in her eyes, anyway.

"Natsumi-chan!"

A younger girl ran up, in the same green uniform, but with deep pink socks that matched her short, yet spiky hair. Her eyes flicked with passion – a trait that many of her fans had complimented her on. For she was Asasmi Hamasaki, or 'Hama-sama', who ran a popular video blog. It had taken off last year, and was still going strong.

"Hey Asami!" Natsumi said, smiling. "What kept you?"

"Oh, the usual..." Asami said. "Just had to schedule when my next video's getting uploaded. It has to be the right time to get the most views, shares, etc."

"You sure plan these things out..." Natsumi said, smiling.

"Of course I do! Koyanagi-sensei doesn't get it though. Remember that huge lecture he gave me about the evils about the internet age? What a boring old man. No wonder he's unmarried. Sucks that he's our homeroom teacher."

"I know. I wonder if the teachers in Kansei are any better...?" Natsumi said.

"I dunno. Some of the commenters probably go there, so I could ask them to tell me what's it's like. Why, do you prefer their uniforms?" Asami asked.

"Not really. To be honest, I wish I could wear a red one..." Natsumi said. "...You remember that story I told you about middle school, right?"

"...About you and Masato-kun?" Asami asked.

"Yeah. We were friends with a guy and girl called Shintaro and Kohaku, ever since elementary school. But then Masato and I ended up in a bad crowd. All I thought about was being popular...cool...stylish. There were some beautiful girls there who everyone was in love with. I wanted to get that kind of attention, not just blend in the background." Natsumi said. "I...I stopped hanging out with Kohaku, because my new friends thought she was just a boring academic type."

"Natsumi-chan, you're crying..." Asami said, sadly.

"No, I'm not! Honestly!" Natsumi said, wiping her eyes. "The girls said that if I didn't stop hanging out with Kohaku, they'd make my life hell. So I told her to leave me alone. I think Kohaku knew what was going on...but she was so disappointed in me. I know now...I should have put our friendship above everything else."

"We all make mistakes." Asami said. "It must have been hard on both of you..."

"Our brother Hideki..." Natsumi said. "He's finally become a teacher. The whole family's proud of him. But he's teaching at Kansei, not here. Me and Masato came to see him before we went out for dinner at Bella Donna...and we saw them."

"So that's why you were asking about that school..." Asami said. "Shintaro still hates your brother for what happened as well...right?"

"After middle school, I was scared that we'd end up in the same high school together. But out parents thought Chieki would be the best place for us. It seemed like a fresh start, a chance to forget what happened." Natsumi said. "Now my brother wants to try to talk things over with Shintaro."

"Is that even going to be worthwhile?" Asami said, raising one of her eyebrows. "What Masato-kun did was pretty terrible. It's not something you can just easily forgive and forget. If someone destroyed one of my grandfather's mementos, I'd...I'd get them back, big time."

"You'd post a video calling them out, right?" Natsumi asked.

"Well, maybe more than that." Asami said. "If Masato thinks he can clear the air, he can try. But some things just aren't meant to be. It might make him feel better, but it won't undo what he did to his grandfather's legacy. He should just let things be."

Natsumi looked at her feet, sadly. Perhaps Asami was right. Putting all her hopes on this Kei girl was probably doomed to failure.

"Look, forget all this sad stuff." Natsumi said. "Those two are in Kansei, and we're in Chieki." She stood up, while Asami looked on. "You're my best friend now, anyway."

"Hehe! It's always fun making videos about your clothing designs." Asami said, happily. "I just wish I could wear some of them in my videos. You got any new numbers planned?"

"There was this dress I had in my mind. Still trying to get all the details down on papers." Natsumi said. "C'mon, let's hit Kita Crossing! I need inspiration!"

"Okay!" Asami said, excitedly. The two of them made their way out of the school, talking and laughing about little things in their lives. For Natsumi, if she could avoid losing Asami the same way she lost Kohaku, then everything would turn out fine.

|Mizuho – Baseball Field|18:53 pm|

Masato, still sweaty from a fierce game of baseball with his friends, was looking up at the sky. The baseball team at his school were due to face off with Kansei later this year, and a lot of pressure was on Masato to excel. His talents had been praised by most. Even Natsumi was impressed.

Today, he had been off his game, much to his friend's frustrations. All because he couldn't get beyond middle school. One minute, he was at the bat, preparing to hit harder than ever, the next he was back in that rainy, muddy courtyard, surrounded by jeers and the anguished cries of his former friends.

"Masato, NO! Don't...that was my grandfather's book! The only copy that ever got published! You know how long it took me to find it! Please, you can't do this!"

"Natsumi, stop him! Please! I'm begging you! Don't let your brother destroy that book..."

"Oi! Masato! You're tough, right? Show me! Rip that crappy old thing into as many pieces you can! Yeah, that's it! Oh look, they're all in the mud now...I just hope that book was dirt cheap!"

"Oi, baby bro. Your carriage awaits."

Masato was shaken by the appearance of his brother. Sighing, he got up, with his sports bag in tow.

"Hey, chin up. You'll do better next time." Hideki said.

"Did you speak to that Kei girl?" Masato asked.

"I didn't get a chance. It's a busy job, being a teacher. You ought to show yours some respect." Hideki said, arm around his brother's shoulder, as they headed home.

"Guess it's not that easy to just approach her about something like this." Masato said. "...Big bro, maybe I should just try and forget all about it. It's not worth stirring up all those old memories."

"Really? It's not like you to just quit something. Well, other than shogi. Dad never did get any of his kids into that game." Hideki said. "Point is, you don't give up on what's important. I sure didn't."

"But that's studying. That's something I can do, even if it's boring as hell next to baseball." Masato said. "Look. I said I'll think of something, and I will. But it might take some time."

Masato, although not convinced, nodded. The two of them started to drive home, to the large Yoshinaga household. Run by their overbearing mother, there had been many times the boys – and Natsumi – dreaded coming here. But it was home, nevertheless.

"Damn, mother's going to be talking my ear off about wedding plans again. Setsuna can't stand how much Mom wants to control our big day. Even as an adult, she's still treating me like a kid." Hideki said, turning round the corner.

"Yeah...must be rough." Masato, not feeling in the mood for conversation, looked inside his sports bag.

_Huh?_

There, on top of the towels, was a black smartphone. Masato didn't recognise it at all – it certainly wasn't his, and neither Natsumi or Hideki had recently bought new phones.

_It looks kinda weird. And feels a bit strange too. It probably belongs to some of the guys, and it got mixed up somehow. I'll give it back tomo_ _rrow. Weird, I don't think I've seen this make before..._


	9. Birth From Zero

**|April 14th, Friday|Nakahara Household – Living Room|7:14 am|**

Shintaro came downstairs, dressed in his uniform, to find his parents staring at the TV, looking gravely concerned.

"What's going on?" Shintaro asked, looking at them both.

"Oh, Shintaro-kun..." Eriko said, in shock. "Something terrible has happened..."

"Son, the Chief of Police was killed last night." Takuya said gravely.

_What?! Don't tell me...Bythos?_

Stunned, Shintaro stared at the TV, transfixed.

"According to the police, the incident took place at 1:32 this morning." The newsreader said, standing outside Hanashima Hospital. "Kazuo Shimomata was recovering from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. A nurse reportedly produced a knife she had hidden on her person, and stabbed Mr. Shimomata seven times in the torso."

"That's..." Shintaro said. "That's horrible..."

"Other nurses attempted to restrain her, but she broke free and jumped out of the window. The nurse's name has not been revealed to the public by the police, but her family have been informed." The newsreader continued.

"Why did this happen...?" Eriko said, shaking. "I've never heard of anything so terrible happening in this city..."

"Mr. Shimomata died from his wounds at 1:45. The nurse died before she could be taken into intensive care at 1:47 am. The police have already begun their inquiries with Hanashima's staff, but further details have yet to be announced."

"It must have been those Bythos scum." Takuya said, shaking his head with disgust. "All their nonsense about a cover-up..."

"Their post yesterday." Shintaro said, the words leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "'You can choose to sheath our sword, or watch as we bathe the island of flowers with blood'."

"Poor Kohaku must be devastated." Eriko said. "Her father was good friends with Shimomata, wasn't he?"

"You should be heading to school, lad." Takuya said. "As for dinner...if Kohaku isn't up for it, we can save it for another time."

"I...I'll be going. See you both tonight." Shintaro said, grabbing his bag. He started his walk to school, but his heart was pounding with fear.

_Bythos are the ones responsible. They've not claimed responsibility just yet, but there's no way that threat yesterday was just an empty one. Could they have been right all along? What did Shimomata know?_

Another terrible thought came to mind. If the nurse was a member of Bythos in disguise, could their members be lurking everywhere he went? What would they do next? And if the nurse wasn't a member of Bythos, could she have been controlled somehow?

_Is that even possible? We've barely explored the Theio Kosmos, and still adapting to the Persona ability. Is it possible to manipulate people as if they were dolls?! I don't remember those three Claret guys saying anything like that, but...Nisa Liat probably knows a lot more. I need to talk to Kohaku and Kei about this right away..._

**|Chieki Academy – Class 2-4 - Lunch|12:14 pm|**

The classrooms of Chieki were quite different in colour from Kansei, sporting light shades of green and a more chequred flooring. Also, the first years were on the third floor, while third years attended classes on the ground floor. Now it was time for lunch, after a rather boring class with Shiro Koyanagi, a Mathematics teacher.

"So..." Masato said, to the boy next to him, another guy on the baseball team called Eiji. "You sure this doesn't belong to any of the guys?"

"Nah, don't remember it. Pretty sketchy that it'd end up in your bag." Eiji, a black-haired boy, said. "It's not your sister's, is it?"

"Nope, she never goes near my gym stuff." Masato said, now even more confused. "When I turned this thing on, it just said 'Gnosis' in big green letters, but it didn't do anything else."

"Gnosis, huh?" Eiji said. "Maybe...it's like a new company that want to sponor you or something?"

"Yeah right. It's got to be some kind of weird store-brand I've never heard of." Masato said. Just then, Natsumi and Asami walked in, and sat in the table in front of them. "Oh, hey sis."

"You still going on about that thing?" Natsumi said, annoyed.

"What...thing?" Asami said, suddenly anxious, as she stared at the phone in Masato's hand.

"This weird phone. Someone left it in my sports bag last night. But it doesn't seem to be anybody's." Masato said.

"Better not talk too loudly about it. Koyanagi-sensei might accuse you of theft and go on a tirade." Asami said. "But away, about all that stuff in Hanashima..."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Eiji said. "A nurse goes and stabs some guy, and throws herself out of the window? What the hell do you think made her do that?"

"It wasn't just 'some guy', though..." Natsumi said. "The Chief of Police of the Shinshuto Prefecture. That's a pretty big deal...it'll be in the news for months."

"Yeah, but people are saying Bythos made the nurse do it. Like, some kind of mind control!"Eiji said.

"Please. This isn't some kind of horror anime." Masato said, shrugging.

"Well, Bythos were making some pretty weird accusations about the Chief of Police. The City Council are probably arguing among themselves wondering what they should do next." Asami said. "If Bythos really can influence minds, then those guys are screwed."

"This is scary..." Natsumi said, worried. "And I thought the worst I had to worry about was running into Kohaku again."

"Huh?" Eiji said, no longer paying attention. Sighing, Masato looked at his sister, and gently held her hand.

"Relax, sis. We'll find a way forward, no matter what. Right? We've survived worse than this. And we will again." Masato said.

"Y...Yeah, you're right. I can't let this get to me." Natsumi said. "So anyway, Asami, you won't believe the amount of people our mother wants to invite to Hideki's engagement party. It's ridiculous. It's making me dread the wedding...I dunno how Setsuna can stand it."

Masato, smiling and nodding, ate his lunch, ignoring Eiji's loud chewing noises. As he did, he took another look at his new Gnosis, and wondered exactly why he had this thing. It wasn't a normal phone, just by the feel of it. What sort of materials were in this thing? Perhaps he'd try connecting it to his laptop later. Or asking his online girlfriend if she'd seen anything like it in New York.

_This is one weird phone. I wonder how it works?_

**|Kansei High School – Rooftop|15:43 pm|**

With Akari present during their classes, Shintaro and friends couldn't openly discuss Bythos – but Kohaku had been despondent the entire time she had been to school. After classes were over, however, Akari announced she was heading to her first shift at the Pet Friends store, and quickly left, leaving the other three to hit the rooftop.

"This is too cruel..." Kohaku said. "Shimomata-san was a kind man...devoted to nothing but keeping the peace! How could Bythos do this to him?"

"It may be that their earlier accusations were correct." Kei said. "Perhaps Shimomata truly knew something about the city council that they didn't want anyone else to know."

"...Even if they were, what's the point of killing him? They said that's what the city council wanted, right? So why call the government out on it, then finish their job anyway?" Shintaro said, confused.

"It's hard to say..." Kei said, anxious. "But they advocate total transparency. Their website has lots of posts calling out various world governments on cover-ups and other conspiracies from years gone by. Things like 'how many lives could have been saved had they told us this from the start?'."

"So they wanted our council to confess to their sins?" Kohaku, shaking, looked into the distance.

"As if they had one last chance to tell the truth?" Shintaro said.

"That might be right." Kei said. "The city council denied all of their accusations, so Bythos made good on their threats. Now people will be demanding answers. They'll lose trust in the council, and Bythos will gain more supporters."

"Would people even want to support them after what they did?!" Shintaro said.

"It's hard to believe, but they do have their fans. Not that most people will admit to it." Kei said. "The worst part is, Bythos may have the power to control the minds of others."

"Control?!" Kohaku said.

"There must be something in the Theio Kosmos that lets them manipulate the minds of others. Perhaps someone doesn't even need to be there for them to be affected. Both Kosmos overlap each other, after all. They could affect each other." Kei said.

"...Let's go there now." Shintaro said. "We'll get more information on Bythos!"

"Are you sure?" Kohaku asked. "We could face the Claret Squad again. Or worse, the Aeon Admins. And I don't think we could survive fighting them. We barely managed to defeat Hisaya and her cronies!"

"I know you're scared, especially after this morning, but we've got to know more about what we're up against." Kei said. "I say we go right now."

"I...well...okay." Kohaku said. "If Bythos really did kill Shimomata-san, then I won't forgive them. I can't let them toy with people like this. Let's head to the mall."

The group left the school quickly, catching the bus. As they did, they saw a darkened mood all throughout the crowds of people they passed. The city had never seen a crime like this see so much publicity. A random nurse killing the Chief of Police, days after Bythos made accusations about him...this would not die down quickly. Especially if their actions continued.

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|15:56 pm|**

The school day was also over for the Chieki Academy students, and while most of them had other plans, Masato had the afternoon to himself. He wasn't particularly keen to rush home, however, especially since he wanted to check out his 'Gnosis'.

Now at the rooftop, which offered breathtaking views of almost the entire Mizuho area, he sat on one of the fold-out chairs and turned on the phone. A green logo appeared, but it seemed to be taking a rather long time to progress to anything else.

"C'mon, already...what else does this thing do?" Masato asked, impatiently. "It's nothing like my usual phone. This doesn't even feel like plastic. Or glass."

_If even Natsumi hasn't heard of this Gnosis thing, it must be obscure. But maybe I'll try asking Dorothy tonight, if we can get a good web chat going. Wonder how her spring break went? Wish I could have seen her. Course, if she knew anything about what I did in middle school, she'd dump me before I could even take a swing -_

Just then, the Gnosis suddenly flashed bright white. A strange dark image appeared, then it went to what looked like a normal phone's operating system. However, most of the icons were highly stylised. Looking closely, most of them had glitched up names. One of them, which looked like it was for a list of numbers, was titled 'ShINjuNO', and another was 'AKeMiPho', for what seemed to be a photo gallery.

"The fuck?" Masato said, staring at the device. He looked away from the phone for a moment, and saw something small in the distance. A blue circle with a QR code. Curious, he looked for the scanner app on the Gnosis, and found it on the second list of apps.

_Here goes nothing. See if this phone can actually work._

As he scanned the code, he suddenly felt a massive flash of pain in his head. Words appeared on his screen in bright letters, but he was barely able to read them from the pain. The whole area became enveloped with mist, and he felt faint. Before he passed out, he saw a strange black figure hovering over him.

" **Host...chosen. Potential...above necessary."**

**|Theio Kosmos – Outside Bella Donna|16:22 pm|**

"No sign of the ugly threesome, anyway." Shintaro said, after they checked the area.

"Did you  _have_ to use that exact word, Shintaro?" Kohaku asked, shuddering at the thought.

"There will probably be Shadows around. Let's be careful." Kei said.

Suddenly, her phone flashed. She held it up, and it opened up a new app, one called the Velvet Room. She stared at it intensely, it's blue aura enveloping her, while the other two looked at each other in confusion.

"Kei, what are you doing?" Shintaro asked.

"She's concentrating. Let her focus." Kohaku said, cautiously. Finally, the app stopped glowing, and Kei looked at the two of them again.

"You...couldn't see him, could you?" Kei asked.

"Him who?" Shintaro asked. "I just saw you staring at a phone."

"Then it must be only be someone with a 'Wild Card' ability who can see the Velvet Room. It was...huge, and full of blue light. It was full of weird, almost futuristic computers. There was a man there called Igor." Kei said. "I've never seen someone with such big eyes or a huge nose."

"Okay..." Kohaku said, dumbfounded.

"But there was an assistant with him." Kei explained. "A young girl, in a beautiful blue dress. Her name was Lavenza. Shintaro, do you recognise that name?"

"Victor Frankenstein's wife...Elizabeth Lavenza?" Shintaro said.

"Yes. Just as the doctor created his monster by fusing parts of humans together, with this app, I can fuse Personas together to shape new ones. In fact, Igor made me fuse one just to start off. I had to use up Pixie to create her, but this one's even better. Here!"

She touched the phone, and a flash of blue light occurred. Appearing in front of her was what appeared to be a small girl, with slightly dark skin, and short spiky black hair, in front of which she wore a fetching white ribbon. She also wore a white dress, and socks and gloves that exposed her fingers and toes.

" **Hi guys! I'm Nadja! Tee-hee! I'm going to win your heart with my cuteness! You better treat me nice. Don't end up like one of those Temple Knights in the Centre, okay?"**

"Nadja?" Shintaro said. "Oh, as in the novel by Andre Breton!"

"You really know your books. It even says that in my Compendium app." Kei said, pulling up Nadja's data. She was apparently of the Empress Arcana, and knew Dia, Agi, 'Psi' (apparently a spell that caused Psychic damage) and 'Marin Karin', a spell that could 'charm' an enemy. Also, it had an entry for her origin, and even discussed the meaning of her name.

"Hmm. So if you fuse Personas together, they'll get stronger?" Kohaku asked.

"Exactly. Each fused Persona inherits something from the ones that came before. For now, I can only fuse two Personas together. I can't fuse any too powerful yet either. Lavenza told me that 'excessive power leads to destruction'..."

"That's kind of boring. No way around that?" Shintaro asked.

"Not at the moment, but you never know. If I keep this up, and complete as much as the Compendium as possible, they may reward me with extra fusion abilities." Kei said. "By the way, the Gnosis also keeps a record of all the Fusion Moves we've been using."

"Oh, like the one me and Taro-kun used to defeat that tattooed bald freak!" Kohaku said. "And the one we used to defeat Nox, too?"

"Yes. There's a lot more moves like that we can use. Igor said that he may be able to help us with those too, but he'd tell me more another time." Kei said. "I wonder, though. Why is it just me that can use this ability? Why not either of you?"

"I wish I knew." Shintaro said. "For now though, I'm stuck with Ogma. But he's seen me through a lot of tough battles already."

"Yeah, and Airmid's been great help with healing. Now then, where do you want to go?" Kohaku asked.

"...Mizuho." Kei said. "Perhaps if we get closer to the hospital, we can find some clues. How Bythos managed to make an innocent nurse kill another man and herself..."

"Hmm..." Shintaro said. "Well, it's not like we can run into  _them_  in this Kosmos, is it?"

"I'd rather bump into them than the Claret Squad." Kohaku said. "Let's go. It's not too far if we take the north road."

**|Chieki Academy|**

Masato opened his eyes, and looked around. The sky looked darker all of a sudden. In fact, it didn't look natural at all. Something wasn't right here. The school itself looked mostly normal, yet it was 'shining' slightly compared to the rest of his surroundings.

"What the hell? This a dream?" Masato asked. Not a single response. He looked at his Gnosis, but the display had turned completely solid green. He felt a sudden chill. "Is anyone there?"

He opened the door that lead to the third floor, but he couldn't hear a sound. No sound of footsteps, chatter, or anything. Just silence. There weren't even any birds chirping. Looking back, he saw Hanashima Hospital – but it had transformed into a wholly bizarre building. On its grounds was an island, covered with lurid pink flowers, and waves of deep purple water were crashing on it from seemingly nowhere. Instead of a hospital, there was a huge hot-pink fortress.

_The fuck?! How did that freaking island get there? How do you go from Hanashima to an island with tons of flowers...oh. Now I get it. Wait, no I fucking don't. I've got to get out of here!_

He ran back to where the code was, and furiously tried to get his Gnosis to work. However, it didn't respond. He tried to scan it with his regular phone, but it only came up with an error message.

"Am I even on Planet Earth anymore...?" Masato asked. "Or is this...hell?"

Masato ran down the stairs, looking around for anyone. But no one was around. On each floor, the classrooms were empty, as if no one had used them at all. Panicking, he ran past the shoe lockers, which were all completely bare as well. He swung the front doors open desperately, and saw the familiar tree in the middle of the front courtyard.

"...Where the hell is everyone?!" Masato screamed, in despair. "Natsumi? Eiji? Asami?"

_Everyone's gone. Are they dead? Am I the only one left in the world?! Then...then what the hell do I do?_

" **Hmm? Never seen you before. You okay, boy?"**

Masato screamed, and turned around. The sight of what he saw caused him even more shock, and he fell down on the concrete ground. Standing over him was a hulking red-skinned creature, with a giant horn and a gigantic club.

"What the hell are you!?" Masato screamed.

" **Huh? You don't know what an Oni looks like? Well, there are things you can only learn about a person through combat. But even if you understand each other, in the end, only one can remain. Now, show me what kind of a man you are."**

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Masato screamed. He got back on his feet, but before he could run away, there was a massive burst of red light. His head hurt far more intensely than it had ever done before. He collapsed to his knees, and coughed. He covered his mouth, but after removing his hand, she saw blood, to his horror. In his mind, he heard terrible sounds echoing violently.

Gunshots. Flames. Screaming. As if an entire army was fighting right next to him. It sounded as if human bodies were being torn to shreds, and their corpses were strewn all over the scorched land.

"Make it stop already...it hurts...I said STOP! NOW!"

As he cried, the light subsided, as did the pain in his head. However, he saw the creature clutching its chest, fading into nothingness.

"...Huh?" Masato asked. "Wait, what happened to you -"

" **Kid. You're in huge trouble. That phone...there's something in there that shouldn't be. Get rid of it! Or it's gonna do to you what it...did to...me. See ya, kid."**

The creature, apparently an Oni of Japanese folklore, vanished entirely. He got back to his feet, and brushed the dirt off his trousers. His Gnosis's screen had changed to a blood red, and Masato gulped.

"Is this thing possessed like that thing just said?" Masato asked. "Dammit, I've got to get out of here. I have to check my house!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he left Chieki Academy. If there were creatures like that Oni around, they could easily prey on his sister and brother. And he couldn't possibly live without either of them around.

**|Mizuho – Baseball Field|17:03 pm|**

The Mizuho Baseball Field didn't appear different in this Kosmos, but the complete dearth of people was unsettling for Shintaro. He had been here several times, mostly with Masato, but ever since he had finished Middle School, he had sworn never to come here. Yet they had walked past here on their way to the Hospital, and Shintaro recognised the chain fences and the blue benches.

"It's not too much further." Kei said. "I checked the map for Mizuho earlier. We just have to take a right, and -"

"Where are you, sis? Bro? Mom? Dad?"

"...What?!" Kohaku said, surprised. "That's not a Shadow!"

"It's..." Shintaro said, shuddering. "No...not here! Not now!"

"Wait a minute! I just heard a human voice! There's someone else besides me!"

Shintaro heard the sounds of someone running, panting for breath. When they turned the corner, on a residential road, they saw a red-haired boy in a green uniform running frantically. When he neared them, however, he skidded to a halt – and fell over, face down.

"Ow...my knees..." The boy groaned.

"You...okay?" Kohaku asked, anxiously.

"Oh great! The apocalypse has hit, and everyone's gone, and – huh?" The boy looked up, and saw Kohaku's face. "H-Hey?! Kohaku...? Shintaro?! What are you two doing in Mizuho?"

Kei helped Masato stand up, and gently put her hands on his shoulders.

"Calm down. This isn't an apocalypse. Your family and friends are all safe." Kei said, as reassuring as possible.

"Um..." Masato said. "Then what is this? There's no one around here, everything looks different, the hospital changed into some weird castle, and there are weird demons running around!"

"Demons?" Shintaro asked. "You mean Shadows?"

"I dunno what they're called! But the one I saw was some kinda fucked up Oni!" Masato shouted. "...Um...you're Kei, right? My brother teaches at your school."

"I know. I've seen you and your sister. At the mall, remember?" Kei said, managing a smile. "I'm Kei Kakusa. It's good to properly meet you."

"I'm Masato Yoshinaga. Hideki's kid brother." The two of them shook heads, and Masato breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so scared...I thought I was the only one left in the world."

"Masato, what happened?" Kohaku asked. "Wait. What is that in your hand?"

"This thing?" Masato asked, holding out the Gnosis in his pocket. "Well...at baseball practice yesterday, I found this in my sports bag."

"A Gnosis!" Shintaro said. "You too?"

"What, don't tell me...you got one too?" Masato asked.

"Not just him. All of us have one. But yours doesn't seem to be working properly." Kei said, taking his Gnosis into her hand. She tried pressing the power and volume buttons, but nothing happened. "Odd...I've never seen this happen."

"It was acting really weird earlier. At school I asked around, but no one seemed to know who it belonged to. They never even heard of a 'Gnosis' brand of smartphone." Masato said. "So I went to the roof, just to chill out...and the phone's working, kinda screwy but it works. I see one of those QR code things, the ones that you see all over the place these days. I scanned it with the Gnosis, and everything went crazy..."

"...And then you ran into that Oni, right?" Kei asked. "Masato...this isn't the end of the world. It's more like...some sort of alternate version of the ordinary world. Listen closely..."

Kei gradually explained everything she knew of the world so far. Masato, in awe, learned of things such as the Akartharto and Theio Kosmos, the monsters called Shadows, Personas, and of the encounter with the Claret Squad. He seemed more confused than ever, however, when her explanation was done.

"This doesn't even make sense..." Masato said. "How can these smartphones do all this crazy stuff?"

"We don't know all the specifics yet." Kohaku said. "Listen. Without a Persona, you won't be able to fight those Shadows properly."

"Exactly." Kei said. "We'll find a way to get you back to the real world. Come with us."

"What? We have to go with him?!" Shintaro said.

"You'd rather he be mauled to death by some beast?" Kei asked, angrily.

"Kei, it's..." Masato said, anxiously. "We...have history."

"I know." Kei said. "Well, not the whole story. But that's not important right now. What matters is getting you home safe and sound. Once we do that, we'll take that Gnosis, and you can forget this ever happened."

"I know it's awkward, but...I don't feel safe going by myself. I don't have this Persona thing." Masato said, looking at his feet.

Kohaku looked at Shintaro, and nudged him in the elbow.

"We cannot leave him to die here. You understand that, right?" Kohaku asked. "Taro-kun, please don't make lose respect for you..."

"...Alright." Shintaro said. "We'll protect you from the Shadows. I promise. You'll get to go home soon."

"I...appreciate it, bud – uh, Shintaro." Masato said, smiling.

"If we go back to Chieki Academy, we should be able to use the same code you used." Kei said. "Let's go. We can't get ambushed here."

**|Chieki Academy – Courtyard|**

The group reached the courtyard, and thankfully had not come across any Shadows. However, the minute they reached the courtyard, that changed completely. A pair of Gremlins appeared, their laughter echoing throughout the area.

"These are Shadows too?!" Masato said, stepping back.

"Stand aside...we'll get these." Shintaro said. "Ogma!"

His Persona attacked one of them with a Blade Strike, while the Gremlin tried to hit with a strange attack, that seemed to made of atomic energy – Frei. Wincing, Shintaro tried to stab at the Gremlin, but it leapt over his head and tried to attack Kohaku.

"Not likely!" Kohaku said, slashing the Gremlin with her naginata. The attack had weakened it significantly, making it vulnerable to a strong Magna. "Airmid, you did it!"

Masato watched, stunned. These Personas were nothing like he had ever seen before. They were stronger than any human could hope to be. He looked at his hands, and held back any instinct he had to rush in and join in the fray. His Gnosis was defective, and he didn't even have a Persona.

"Nadja!" Kei cried, summoning the strange fairy. She leaned to the right, and winked – creating a strange multicoloured ripple effect, that knocked the second Gremlin to the ground. This, apparently, was the 'Psi' spell.

" **Ugh...dammit, no! Please, lemme go! I'll give you some sweet gear!"** The Gremlin begged.

"Let's see...how about you give me an item?" Kei asked, smirking. "You weird things like messing around with machines. You've probably scavenged some strange stuff in your time."

" **Way to generalize, lady! But...if it stops you from killing me, I found this weird thing the other day..."** The Gremlin clicked its fingers, and a burning hot red stone appeared.  **"It's called an Agi Stone. Use it if you don't have any fire spells, or the energy to cast one. It's pretty weak, but in a pinch. Well, see you! But you're no match for the moon guy and the video lady!"**

The Gremlin vanished into thin air, chuckling to himself.

"Hmm." Shintaro said. "This stone could come in useful."

"Indeed." Kei said, taking it into her possession. It vanished into her phone, apparently a 'bag of holding' in digital form. "I can set this up so that all items we pick up are linked. Which means you two can use the Agi Stone, not just me."

"I'm a little concerned by what he said at the end. A 'moon guy' and a 'video lady'..." Kohaku said, anxious. "They don't sound like Nisa Liat, but -"

"Wow...you guys were amazing!" Masato said, excited. "Can these Gnosis really do all this stuff?"

"This is all real, Masato." Kohaku said, coldly. "Our weapons stay in the Gnosis when we're not using them."

"I really need to thank you guys properly for saving my butt today." Masato said, casually.

"...That won't be necessary." Shintaro said, irritated.

"But if you hadn't gone with me, I could be deader than Pete Rose's career. Maybe I could buy you sushi, or something -"

"Give it up, Masato!" Shintaro shouted. "We aren't going to snap back to being friends. Not after what you did."

"Okay, I've had enough of this." Kei said, sternly. "What  _did_  Masato do?"

"Kei-san, don't worry about it, let's just get going and -"

"I'll tell you, Kei. It's about time I fill you in." Shintaro said, icily, at Kei. "You already know that Masato and Natsumi were friends of ours a long time ago. We used to hang out all the time. Everything was going great. We were always at each other's houses. Then, when we were at Middle School, things changed."

"Shintaro..." Kei said, looking back and forth at both Shintaro and Masato.

"I was a fat little kid back then...I just never could get into sports. Masato was the complete opposite. He and his sister, they weren't so cool with hanging around us anymore. So they moved on to a new crowd. The popular ones...that didn't give a shit about who they stepped on to look cool. The kind that didn't really trust each other...but being around them made you get noticed."

"I..." Masato said, but hesitated.

"Before long, he starts joining in with the leader of his new group. They went out of their way to pick on kids like me – the ones who weren't 'cool' like them. Natsumi, she turned her back on Kohaku too. Left her and me to fend for ourselves. Do you know how hard it was to keep coming back to school? It wasn't just name calling! They kept stealing my books, my lunch...I lost over fifty of my favourite novels thanks to them."

"Shintaro, I -"

"All the time, you acted like you didn't know us!" Shintaro said. "After all the times we spent together, all those promises we made to always be friends, you threw it all away. And for what? Are you still with the awesome new friends you made?"

"N-No! They didn't end up in Chieki!" Masato said. "Natsumi ditched those bitches too. She finally realised she deserved better than them. But -"

"I'm not finished yet. Not by a long shot!" Shintaro said, furious. "The last day of middle school...things were getting better, even if just a little. I was starting to lose weight, my test scores were at 99%, and I finally found an original copy of 'Silver's Pain'."

"I...I don't know that book." Kei said, awkwardly.

"Most people don't, Kei. But the man who wrote it was Genichiro Nakahara." Kohaku explained. "That's Shintaro's grandfather...he wanted to be known as the greatest Japanese novelist the world would ever know. And he put everything into it."

"That's right, Haku-chan. The book my grandfather wrote at the same time my father was born." Shintaro said. "My grandfather died a year before I was born...I really wish I could have met him. It's thanks to him and my father that I became such a bookworm. But Masato knows all about that that. He knew how much books meant to me. How much me and my father were trying to find an original copy, of a book that barely sold a hundred copies!"

"Kei...it's all my fault." Masato said, looking at her, tearfully. "Rokurou – the leader of our group – really didn't like Shintaro. He...he thought it'd teach him a lesson if we...if we..."

"They took me by the arms, dumped everything out of my bag into the mud...and they found it. The only surviving copy my father could find. I put it in there beneath everything else, just so I could show Kohaku! But...one, after another..."

Shintaro, wiping away the tears of his eyes, shuddered at the thought. Then, when his eyes locked with Masato, they flared up with rage, while Masato winced, shutting his own.

"That bastard tore it to pieces!" Shintaro screamed, hurting his throat. "My grandfather worked so hard to become an author. He...He was trying so hard to support his family, he spent years working on the perfect book...and Silver's Pain was the one! It meant so much to him that it got published...and you  _threw it all_   _away_!"

Shintaro's memory flared up of that day. One, after another, a page got torn out from the muddied book. They all sank into the rainy mud, forever ruined – powerful words that would never be read ever again. Shintaro and Kohaku had to watch, restrained by their hated bullied. It only ended when some concerned teachers came to see what was going on.

"...Shintaro, I'm so sorry." Kei said, looking at him with pity in her eyes.

"I...I never got the chance to read it!" Shintaro screamed. "All because of you, Masato! You and those fucking friends you chose over us! So what if it's been over a year since then? You can stand there, spouting apology after apology...what good will that do Genichiro Nakahara? He wasn't famous...he wasn't acknowledged as the great author he desperately wanted to be...but he was still  _my_ hero!"

"I-I know that, I do! I didn't forget everything you told me about him!" Masato said, desperately. "But Shintaro, I...I know what I did was wrong! We let you and Kohaku down, big time. We fucked up, okay? But can't we -"

"No. Masato, no matter what, I will _never_  forgive you. So if you see us around, don't ever think you can just pop over and say hi. Same goes for your sister, too. Are we clear?!"

"...Loud and clear." Masato said.

"We can't just stay around here. More Shadows could try to attack us." Kohaku said. "We've got to take Masato back to the Akarharto Kosmos."

"Yes. For the sake of his brother and sister." Kei said, to Masato. "Trust me. I'll make sure you return home safely."

"...Okay." Masato said.

The four of them, unable to think of anything else to say, proceeded through the doors of Chieki Academy, guided by Masato.

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|**

The tension in the atmosphere was thicker than any one in the group had ever experienced before. Shintaro's throat still hurt from all his shouting, and Masato kept looking at the ground. No doubt he was anxious of triggering another outburst.

_Now that I got that all off my chest, I...I don't know if I feel any better or not. Masato's quiet and so are the others. Maybe it's just me, but Kei seems kind of disappointed in me. I should try and clear the air with her, but for now, let's just get Masato back to his home._

"Here we are..." Masato said, awkwardly, as he held the door open. Kohaku thanked him but other two kept quiet.

"Where's the code, Masato?" Kohaku asked.

"Here." Masato said, walking over to it. Kei scanned it, and sent the data to Shintaro and Kohaku's phones. This was their first destination in Mizuho, and probably wouldn't be the last.

"It's a great view from here. In Kansei, we're surrounded by huge buildings no matter where you look." Kohaku said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yeah...it's nice." Masato said, nonplussed.

"We'll get you out of here soon enough." Kei said. "Let me handle this -"

Just then, however, red dots appeared on the Gnosis's map. Shintaro gasped – a trio of Shadows appeared, three Kobalds. Masato gasped, and froze on the spot.

" **What's the matter, kids? Not got time to hang out with us? Join our club! Get it? Club? Ah, screw you guys. Let's just bash their brains in. Then we'll go dancin' with those Silkies round the block."**

"Damn!" Shintaro said. "Masato, stay back. We'll get rid of these."

"Fine. I won't get in your way anymore. Wait... _huh_?!" Masato said. His Gnosis was emitting a strange dark blue glow, and the screen turned pure white. "Argh!"

He clutched his head in pain, as bright red 'electricity' seemed to phase through him. Shintaro gasped – this had never happened to him or the others. Was this Gnosis toxic to Masato? If they didn't do something quickly, Masato could die.

_Dammit. I can't let that happen. We could try destroying the Gnosis he has, but -_

"Masato! What's wrong?!" Kohaku asked.

"H-Hang in there!" Shintaro said, anxiously.

"Something's...in this phone! It's alive!" Masato said, face pale with fright. "And...I don't think I can stop it...! Help! Sis...Bro..." He fell to his knees, and a huge flash of red air occurred. In the flash, all three Kobolds were suddenly cut in two – their upper halves falling off the rooftop onto the dark stone ground below, their lower halves disintegrating.

"...No!" Kei screamed.

There, floating above Masato – now in absolute agony – was a black humanoid figure, whose body seemed almost liquid, with blue smoke contained within itself. On its 'head' was a dark blue metallic mask, however its facial features were contorted and twisted – only its red eyes were visible.

"...The fuck is this thing?!" Shintaro asked. "That's not a Persona, is it...?"

Kohaku, using her Gnosis, tried to scan the mysterious being. As she did so, what looked like a sword hilt – made out of pure darkness – emerged from the monster's heart. The floating monstrosity withdrew the blade from its core, while Masato stared at it in horror.

"Guys...it hurts...whatever this thing is, it hurts! I can't...I can't make it stop! Please...whatever you think of me...help!" Masato said, on the verge of tears.

"I...I will! But what the hell is this thing?" Kohaku said, looking at her Gnosis. On display was a simple entry, with a picture of the being. Yet none of the information on its resistances to the various elements, of which included 'Nuclear' and 'Psychic', seemed to have showing properly. The picture seemed rather compressed, as if it had been re-sized from a lower resolution originally.

**Name: EX-NIHILO**

**Arcana: ERROR – [ARCANA] NOT FOUND**

**Skills:**

**\- ERROR – [SKILLSET] NOT AVAILABLE**

**Data:**

**\- BlankDummyComp**

**ERROR CODE 004 – EX-N**

**REPORT TO AEON ADMIN IF READING THIS ENTRY IMMEDIATELY**

**FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN TERMINATION OF SELF**

"EX-NIHILO...that doesn't seem right." Kohaku said. "This definitely isn't a normal Persona!"

"Ngh..." Masato said, unable to move from the pain. "Make him stop..."

" **Initializing. Host 'Masato Yoshinaga' providing optimal energy to sustain manifestation. Environment scanning."**

EX-NIHILO, apparently this creature's identity, put its fingers on its forehead, and a red flash occurred, surrounding Shintaro and the others temporarily with a strange column of 1's and 0's.

" **3 Persona users in vicinity. Condition: Genuine. Gnosis terminals all activate."**

A shiver went down Shintaro's spine. This being's voice sounded incredibly processed and distorted, as if it had been compressed far beyond tolerable levels. It didn't seem human, even compared to the Shadows the group had defeated so far.

"We've got to destroy this thing." Shintaro said, shaken. "We...We can't let Masato suffer like this."

"Shintaro...of course, you're right." Kohaku said. "We promised to get him home safely, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"

"Then there is no more need for words." Kei said. "Begin!"

" **Combat instinct detected. Beginning BATTLE 01 procedure. Annihilation of human subjects must be fulfilled."**


	10. Another Warrior Arises

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|17:34 pm|**

Their enemy, the EX-NIHILO, was nothing like any Persona or Shadow they had ever seen before. However, there was still only one choice. To do battle.

"Annihilation...?!" Shintaro uttered timidly. "Y-You won't win! Ogma!"

His Persona emerged, gathering the force of divine winds. As he did so, he felt a strange new energy. Another new attack he could use.

"Yes! This is just what I needed!"

"Shintaro...?" Masato said, paralysed with fear. EX-NIHILO stared at the Persona in front of him, and readied its blade.

"Jet Flash!"

Ogma held his blade with two hands, and thrust forward – sending forward a sharp jet of air. As he did so, Shintaro suddenly disappeared – only to appear directly behind EX-NIHILO.

_Holy crap...this worked?! I...I gotta attack now, before he turns around and finds me!_

"Die!"

Shintaro slashed the beast as many time as he could, each swing more ferocious than before. The demonic 'Persona', having taken considerable damage from this onslaught, turned around – and swung its own Nullity Blade, sending Shintaro backwards.

"Dammit...!" Shintaro groaned.

"How dare you, you freak!" Kohaku shrieked at her foe. Fearing for her friend, she used Airmid's healing spell to protect Shintaro.

"Thanks, Haku-chan" Shintaro said. "Maybe we should try using Dia spells on Masato."

"I don't think that will work." Kei said, shaking her head. "The only way to stop this is to somehow kill EX-NIHILO. But I'm sure we can do it -"

EX-NIHILO, however, had other plans than let itself be killed by three high school students. It held out its left hand, the one without a weapon, and gathered a strange mass of black energy. It had some strange specks of red, almost like dead pixels on a display. It sent forward this ball, and it struck Kohaku.

"Ouch!" Kohaku said, as the sphere struck her. "What is this?!"

"I'm...I'm not sure." Kei said. She checked her own Gnosis, which had updated its entry on their foe with the 'Nullity Blade' attack, and it now listed a move called 'Ex Nihilo'. "Hmm...naming an attack after itself. But wait, this move...it doesn't seem to have  _any_ element whatsoever."

"Huh? That's not possible, is it?" Shintaro asked.

"There's a help page that lists all the elements we can expect Personas and Shadows to use. Fire, Ice, Wind, Electric, Water, Earth, Psychic, Nuclear, Light, Darkness, Almighty, and Physical. But this move...it wasn't  _either_ of those." Kei said. "And this phone doesn't display any data."

"This thing...it's terrifying." Kohaku said. "Even if its power isn't known, it's still dangerous. Especially for its host."

"That's right. Masato is in grave danger." Kei said, seriously. "And I won't stand by and let this demon do this to him!"

Anxious, Kei changed her Persona to Ostara. A volley of sharp petals struck the EX-NIHILO, slicing through its body via the Petal Waltz. In retaliation, it attempted to strike her with its sword – Kei tried to block the attack, but was pushed further and further back. Realising the futility of this, she ducked and rolled to the side.

"Die!"

She stabbed the strange being right in its side. While it had not offered any dialogue, it seemed to be in deep pain from the attacks that had been launched at it. Alas, Masato's condition had not improved. In fact, it seemed as if energy was being sucked from his body straight into the parasitical demon's, slowly but surely.

"...No!" Shintaro said. "How do we stop the flow of energy?"

"I don't know, Shintaro! But we've got to try to stop this monster!" Kohaku cried.

"Watch out!" Kei cried. Kohaku gasped – a Zio had just struck her, before she had a chance to escape its wrath.

"Come on, Ogma!" Shintaro sent forth a Garu on the advancing EX-NIHILO, slowing its progress. Kohaku's naginata hit it from behind, causing it to drop to his knees, even if for just a moment.

"Kohaku!" Kei cried. "Airmid must have gotten stronger from all our battles. Bring out her new power!"

"New power? Wait...I think you're right! Airmid, come forth! Clocha Ghlais!"

A bright stone, glowing a vibrant green hue, fell from the sky, and hovered above the ground. Shintaro and Kei stared at it in awe – and felt its soft, pure resonance. Soothing light emanated from it, healing all three Persona users. Next, the stone crashed into EX-NIHILO, piercing its dark body.

"Excellent as always, Kohaku! I won't falter either... Strigoii! Eiha!" Kei cried, switching Persona. Strigoii, meaning 'poltergeist', were known as vampires in Romanian lore, having been troubled souls of the dead who rose from the grave. This particular one was keen to cause the EX-NIHILO some trouble of its own, and it summoned deep darkness in the form of Eiha.

Even with this, the monster still wasn't giving up. It cast a strange spell of dissonant orange light, which the Gnosis identified as 'Tarunda' – it deduced the offence of its target, in this case, Shintaro.

"What the...I feel funny..." Shintaro said. His sword arm felt weaker all of a sudden, as if he had been sleeping on it. Not only that, he could sense that Ogma's inner strength had dimmed. The EX-NIHILO, still silent, clearly wanted to reduce its chances of defeat. Needing health, it turned to Masato, and absorbed a great amount of energy.

"Guys...please..." Masato, voice hoarse from the pain, begged. "I can't take it...much longer..."

"This isn't good. We've got to stop this EX-NIHILO before it can kill him." Shintaro said. "Are we too weak on our own?"

"No, Shintaro. I know we can accomplish this task." Kei said, calmly. With her katana in both hands, she leapt up, and slashed the EX-NIHILO right in the face. The sudden burst of strength she felt sent the creature to the ground with a heavy thud, where it was immobile. The flow of energy seemed to have stopped – and Masato was finally able to stand, albeit very debilitated from his ordeal.

"Now!" Kohaku yelled.

She, Shintaro and Kei rushed at EX-NIHILO, striking it as powerfully with their weapons as they could. Terrified at his own violence, Shintaro still could not stop. Having only viewed himself as a meek, unassuming student, he hadn't quite imagined him being capability of mercilessly hacking another being to death.

_Is it because this monster is threatening Masato's life? Am I that determined to save him? Regardless of how I feel about him, I cannot leave him to die in the Theio Kosmos. I shouldn't have even hesitated back there. I've got to keep attacking, until this damn eyesore dies!_

Finally breaking free, the monster unleashed another Nullity Blade, sending Kei flying backwards onto the ground. Masato's brief moment of relief was cut short when his energy started to be absorbed again – sending him into another fit of sheer agony.

"Stop it! I can't...I can't keep this up...I can't get him out of my head..." Masato said, clutching his head in both hands, on the verge of tears.

_This is too cruel. EX-NIHILO is a mindless parasite, without a soul. It doesn't even deserve to be compared to a Shadow. It's pure evil. Nothing more, and nothing less._

"I'll vanquish you right here and now!" Shintaro cried. He ran forward, sword at the ready, and tried to slash at the same time as Ogma's Blade Strike. However, the EX-NIHILO was not to be taken off guard – it launched its eponymous attack, sending Shintaro crashing down, and quickly jumped away from Ogma's sword.

_Ugh...Are we outmatched? Are we not...going to make it? No, I have to trust in Kei. She won't let us down._

"Let's try something new. Kohaku, support me!" Kei said. In preparation, she switched to Kabuso, a mischievous shapeshifter in Japanese lore in the form of a cat. This somewhat odd creature had a straw hat, matted blue hair, and a rather thick tail. "We begin!"

"Alright! Airmid, please support Kei and Kabuso." Kohaku asked her Persona, politely. Airmid nodded gently, although it didn't seem too comfortable with the constantly smirking cat-like creature in front of her. Regardless, Airmid began chanting powerfully, and conjured the power of earth around Kabuso's claw.

Grinning wildly, the cat-like Persona leapt high into the air, its claw shining brightly in the dark sky. It seemed to freeze in place, but then it came tumbling down – driving its powerful claw right through the EX-NIHILO's head.

" **Excavation Claw!"**

The moment Kabuso hit the ground, it caused the ground to shake violently – and break apart, blasting the EX-NIHILO with sharp rocks. For a second, Kohaku seemed worried about the possible collateral damage they could cause Chieki Academy, but to her relief, the actual floor was relatively undamaged.

"...Wait, we're not destroying the school with our attacks?" She asked.

"It seems structures in the Theio Kosmos are more resilient than their Akaharto Kosmos counterparts." Kei said. "This is the Shadow's native environment, after all."

"This thing is as good as dead!" Shintaro cheered. However, the EX-NIHILO had lost patience. With great vigour, it struck all three of its opponents with a single Ex Nihilo spell at once. After this, it became enshrouded in an ominous red glow, and its very footsteps seemed to be corrupting the ground, leaving pure black footprints with more 'dead pixels' in them.

"Argh!" Kei cried.

"Oww..." Kohaku moaned.

"Damn..." Shintaro, wincing, looked up at his foe. It had turned on him, its blade in its hands. Holding it overhead, it seemed to be building up strength in its arms, which were glowing a light orange. Somehow, the opposite effect of Tarunda had come to boost this demon – much to their disadvantage.

"Shintaro!" Kohaku cried. She tried to summon Airmid, but a powerful Nullity Blade struck her, sending her flying to the ground. "No...I can't..."

"Kohaku, hold on! I'll try -"

"Kei, I'll be fine...please, try to protect Taro-kun..."

Shintaro gasped. His weary body wasn't fast enough to escape from this monster's blade. And he was still feeling a distinct lack of energy, thanks to the Tarunda from before. He took out his blade regardless, even though he had no chance of blocking.

_It's too late...I wasn't strong enough to defeat this thing after all. Mother, father...I'm sorry I let you all down. I just wish I could take back what I said before -_

"Don't you dare!"

Shintaro felt himself hitting the ground, but not from EX-NIHILO's dark blade. Rather, someone else had shoved him out of harms way – and managed to dodge the mighty sword swing, too. Turning around, Shintaro gasped – Masato was in front of the dark creature, no longer afraid or in torment.

"Masato...?" Shintaro said, slowly.

"You heard me! Whatever the fuck your name is, I've had enough of watching this. You think you can mess Taro-kun and Haku-chan around, just like Rokurou and the others?! No way! Not again. I stood by and let it happen. I...I even joined in. But not anymore!"

"Masato, what are you doing!?" Kohaku screamed. "You'll only get yourself killed!"

"...Not today." Masato said, smiling. "Just a second ago, I heard a voice in my head...the same guy who spoke to you, I bet."

"What? You mean, Philemon?!" Shintaro asked.

"The very same..." Masato said. "...I think I can do this! Do your worst, you miserable bastard!"

EX-NIHILO, unfazed by this sudden outburst, tried to unleash another Nullity Blade – but its sword did not strike flesh or bone. Rather, it was knocked away entirely, and the blade embedded itself into the ground. Surrounding Masato was now a bright blue aurora, just like it had done with Shintaro.

" **PERSONA!** "

Appearing above Masato was a human-like force with a smug, confident grin. Dressed in sturdy dark red armour, covered in golden patterns, this warrior figure had a sigil of a lightning bolt on its chestplate.

_I remember that symbol. Masato drew it when he was trying to make action comics with me. But neither of us knew how to draw, so it took us a few attempts to get a design we were proud of..._

The figure's muscular arms were exposed, revealing his brute strength. His face was adorned with a thick, red bushy beard, and while the horned helmet covered most of it, he had a long mane of red hair. Completing this look was a pale gold short cape, flapping in the wind created by the blue aurora. The newly emerged being held out his hand, and a large heavy metal club appeared in his hand – the handle styled after a rather oversized baseball bat. Despite its weight, this being could carry it with just one hand.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Camulus, he who shall wage war for aeons to achieve glory!**

Now unarmed, EX-NIHILO had lost whatever composure it may have had. It fired Ex Nihilo one after another, but Camulus somehow managed to counter them all with his club, sending them hurtling back at their sender. Weakened, EX-NIHILO fell to its knees, and its ethereal glow dimmed.

"Hell yeah...this is gonna be great. Camulus!" Masato cried. "I'm counting on you. Crush that damn bastard for what he did to me! Don't let him get away with it!"

Eager to comply with his new master, Camulus grabbed the EX-NIHILO by the neck, and swung down hard with the Iron Impact. In doing so, he smashed the head to smithereens, splattering bits of metal and puddles of dark red blood all over the rooftop. As a result, an intense screech echoed throughout the area, and Shintaro had to cover his ears. When the noise finally ended, he looked back. The EX-NIHILO's headless body fell onto the ground, and disappeared as mysteriously as it came. The Nullity Blade vanished too, and despite the blade sinking into the stone floor, it didn't leave a whole at all.

"Is...is it over?!" Kohaku asked. Shintaro nodded at her, stunned by what he had just witnessed.

"Phew...good job, Camulus. You make the team..."

Masato stared in awe, his Gnosis held tightly in his sweaty palm. Feeling exhaustion take over, he fell to his bottom – and not for the first time this evening. In a daze, he stared at the ground where EX-NIHILO had once stood.

"Rest in pieces, you creepy werido..." Masato said, pleased with his newfound strength.

"Masato!" Shintaro said, running over. "Are you alright?!"

Masato looked up at Shintaro, sitting up. "I...I think so. Worst EX I've ever had."

Shintaro found himself laughing, even if just a little. Masato grinned, and before long, joined in with laughter as well. The two of them couldn't control it – they were laughing uproariously, no longer opposed to being in the same place as each other.

_Dammit, it wasn't even that funny...so why am I laughing so hard?_

"Kohaku, do we have a means for checking for laughing gas?" Kei asked.

"I don't think so..." Kohaku said, worried. "Hold on. I'll check my Gnosis and see if any new apps have appeared -"

"I was kidding. Calm down!" Kei said, shaking her head.

"Sorry about that. After all of that drama, I just...wanted to laugh. And making a lame pun just seemed to be the best way to do it." Masato said.

"I'm glad to see you're well, Masato-san, but the EX-NIHILO absorbed a lot of your health..." Kei said, worried.

"Yes, she's right. But I can heal you now..." Kohaku said. Airmid appeared, and cast Dia upon Dia to revitalise the redheaded baseball fan.

"Thanks, Kohaku...you always were the medical one back when we were kids. Always had a pack of plasters at hand." Masato said, smiling. "I don't feel any pain anymore. None physical, anyway. Whatever that EX-NIHILO thing was, it's not in the phone anymore."

"Good. I hope we never see it again." Shintaro said, his sword vanishing.

"Hey, Shintaro...uh...if I have a Persona..." Masato began.

"What about it?" Kohaku asked. "Truth is, we've only scratched the surface of this power."

"Does having one mean you've got like...strong resolve, or something like that?" Masato asked.

"As far as I understand it, having a Persona means you have a clear idea of who you are, as well as the facade you wear every day. Knowing both the outer and inner self." Kei said. "When you saw that abomination trying to kill Shintaro, you were able to summon Camulus and destroy EX-NIHILO."

"Well..." Masato said, face almost as red as his hair. "I guess, in my head...I finally knew just how much what I did affected him. That hurt, but I couldn't blame Shintaro for feeling that way. But when he was fighting that thing, something in me just clicked."

"What was that?" Kohaku asked.

"That I couldn't just let you or him get messed around anymore. That I had do something, anything at all, to stop it from happening." Masato said. "I know you still hate me for what I did. And I'm not going to make any excuses. But right now, all I know is that Bythos are a creepy group that are trying to pull off some real nasty plot. Without a Persona, you can't stand up to them. But I've got Camulus. So...please. Let me join your fight."

_He really means it, doesn't he? There's something about him now that's so determined. Was I wrong to go on that huge tirade before? I've got to look at this from his point of view, don't I?_

"Masato..." Shintaro began, awkwardly. "About everything I said earlier...?"

"Yeah?" Masato asked.

"After I got all that out of my system, I started to think about it. What have I been doing to move past that day? I've just carried on as normal, studying, reading, etc. I thought I was the better man, but in the end, I haven't changed at all. It's time for both of us to start." Shintaro said. He held out his hand, and managed a small smile.

"Huh? Wait, you mean -"

"Yeah." Shintaro said. "It's not going to be easy, and I can't promise things will be like old times, but...I forgive you."

Masato stared in silence. Then, he beamed into a smile, and suddenly embraced Shintaro, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Whoa!" Shintaro said.

"Heh..." Masato said. "Sorry. I just...it felt really good to hear you say that."

"Masato..." Kohaku said. "Let's go back to our world. Your sister might be worried about you."

Kei, looking at the ground, noticed the Gnosis in Masato's hand had fallen to the ground. "You should take care of this, Masato-san. This device is what lets us summon our Personas in here."

"Really? But I though mine was buggy - huh?" Masato looked at his phone, and discovered it to be in perfect working order. It displayed the apps with their correct names. There was no longer any sign of EX-NIHILO's contamination. "Whaddya know? It's working just like yours!"

"We still don't know how these phones work. They definitely don't appear to be relying on natural materials or technology." Kei said. "Take it, Masato. It's your key to this world, and your means of survival."

"Course I will, Kei-san. I'm not gonna run away from any more Shadows. How long have I been stuck here?" Masato asked, checking his sports tracker watch. "Whoa, it's later than I thought. We oughta make like that big tree out front and leave."

"Are you okay to walk, Masato-san?" Kei asked.

"Yeah. I think I'll be alright." Masato said. "In fact, I feel better than ever. It's a huge weight off my mind."

_I guess it would have been. Looking at it from his eyes, he was probably bullied into doing what he did to my grandfather's book. All I thought about was that, but for him, he had lost our friendship. But not forever. We can start over, little by little._

**|Bella Donna – Pet Friends|18:20 pm|**

Akari, beaming at the counter, stared around at the brightly coloured pet goods store. She couldn't believe it. Another step closer, perhaps, to becoming the greatest vet in Japan. It had been her dream ever since she was eight, but now that she was coming ever closer to college, it felt like something she could truly do.

"Good work today, Ito-san." the manager said. "We've been really busy recently, so I'm glad you were able to help out."

"I don't mind at all. I love helping people who need help with animals." Akari said, with honest joy in her heart. "Things are getting scary in this city recently...if people are afraid, it'll affect their pets, too. I wish I could do more to stop all this stuff with Bythos, but..."

"Ah, don't get too emotional. You're still young. There's plenty you can do." The manager said, patting her on the shoulder. "Ah, there's one more customer. You can finish for today after you're done."

"Okay!" Akari said. As she finished serving the last customer, a lady being a new rabbit hutch – Akari helping her with the bedding as well – she breathed a sigh of satisfaction. Not a single dissatisfied customer. If she kept this up, that meant possibly more money – which could help her in later life, if she did end up in a college of her choice.

She quickly changed back into her Kansei uniform, and said goodbye to her manager, who was preparing to lock up for tonight. Happily humming along to herself, she had put aside all of yesterday's worries behind. Whatever Keiya's secret was, he was such a charming man. As she was staring at her phone, however, she thought she saw someone waving at her. Confused, she looked up, and grinned.

"Oh! Good evening!" she said to him.

This man was a neighbour of hers, of sorts. He lived in an apartment block not very far from her street, and she had seem him around the neighbourhood quite often, usually feeding stray animals or walking his own pet dog. A man in his early twenties, he had something of a roughish charm, with messy light brown hair, sticking out on top, but his brown eyes had an honest glow.

While Akari hadn't really spoken to him for very long, she felt a true genuine kindness from him. The way he softly spoke to his dog, and just about every other animal he came across, seemed so earnest. He didn't seem to have any human friends, however, which made Akari feel a little sorry for him. She didn't even know his name...but since she had run into him here, she might as well make conversation.

"Howdy!" The man said. "We keep bumping into each other, don't we?"

"I work at Pet Friends now, hehe. You go there much?" Akari asked.

"Sometimes..." The young man said, looking at his rather bulky bag of items. "Just picking up some stuff for the weekend. Little Taro eats me out of house and home."

"My Akiko is just the same." Akari said, giggling. "Oh...wait, I don't think I even caught your name. Weird, huh?"

"Sorry, I should have introduced myself before now. The name's Kaii."

"Mine's Akari!" They shook hands, and while she tried her hardest not to blush, he simply smiled. "Come in next time I'm working. There's a toy in there I think your Taro is really gonna like!"

"To be honest, Taro treats me like a toy more than any of the ones I buy for him. Story of my life." Kaii said, chuckling to himself. The two of them reached their bus stop.

"So, are you in college?" Akari asked, curiously.

"Well, I should be, but I failed the exams. Bingo, an instant disappointment to my aunt and uncle. Shameful was the word my aunt used. My uncle went for 'fucking disgrace'." Kaii said, sighing. "Sorry for wearing...but I'm planning on retaking them next year. Are 21 year olds considered mature students these days?"

"I...I dunno." Akari said. "Me, though, I want to become a vet. That's not going to be easy."

"What are you talking about? You seem to know a thing or two about dogs. And probably cats, mice, Komodo dragons..." Kaii said. "Having a pet one of those would be amazing. I'd need a bigger place than a one-bedroom apartment, though. And a lot more money. And fireproof clothes. It's a dragon, right?"

Akari laughed. The bus arrived, and they took the upstairs seats. Shinshuto buses were double decker, and Akari preferred to sit upstairs. She took the window seat, and Kaii sat next to her.

"Oh yeah, the other day, I was going through Midori Park...and you'll never guess who I saw!" Akari continued. Kaii, half-interested, shook his head. "Keiya Tsukino!"

"Keiya, huh..." Kaii said, no longer smiling. Akari, concerned, looked at him, but he shook his head, and forced a smile. "The card guy, right?"

"Yeah, the very same! He even did a trick on me. But I have no idea how he did. He took all of the Heart cards in his deck, and before I knew it, they're all in my blazer's pocket! How he did it, I'll never figure out..."

"Huh...that is pretty weird." Kaii said, although he seemed slightly annoyed. "There's something weird about him, that's for sure. Some of his tricks don't really make sense."

"Oh, you've seen him?" Akari asked.

"Plenty of times." Kaii said. "I keep trying to figure out how he does it, but I guess we'll never know." Akari was checking her phone, and while she laughed at her friend's Suzu's video, one involving a CEO in a red dress throwing her latte at a poor person, she noticed Kaii checking his. He suddenly put it away in his pocket, suddenly startled, before she could properly look at it.

"What?" Akari asked. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No, it's nothing. My phone just needs charging, that's all." Kaii said, breathing loudly.

"Huh...that sucks. You should get a power bank. I've got an adorable bunny one from last Easter." Akari said. "Speaking of phones, three of my friends at school have these weird ones called 'Gnosis'. I've never even heard of those, but you know something else? I even saw Keiya with one!"

"Gnosis..." Kaii said, a little apprehensively. "What a weird name. It's like...Greek, or something?"

"I dunno. But oh my god, there's this great new Greek restaurant in Asakita, and -"

The conversation continued onto completely different topics. Kaii seemed relieved that they had dropped the topic of the Gnosis completely, and instead seemed amused at just how many tangents Akari could go down. Truth is, she really just liked talking to people...but she hated it when people didn't want to listen.

Today, however, she had found her listener. They got off the bus at the same stop, and she was onto a tale involving her dog literally eating her homework – despite it being in a locked drawer in her study desk.

"I dunno how she did it. And what's so tasty about paper, anyway? Dogs will eat anything that's not nailed down. And even then, Akiko-chan probably would still try..."

"Sounds like my boy Taro. Dumb thing...but he's too cute to stay mad at. Hey, Akari." Kaii said. "It was nice properly meeting you. You sure have a lot of...interesting things to say."

"Yeah, sorry. I talk a lot - there's just a lot of silly things in my life I wanna let everyone

know. I hope I didn't bore you." Akari said, embarrassed.

_Please don't say I did! One, that would be mean, and two, I really, really hope he was listening to my weird ramblings. Good listeners are really hard to come by these days..._

"No, not at all." Kaii said. "We should talk again sometime. Maybe we should walk our dogs together!"

"I don't mind. But we better not tell my mom. She's very...restrictive. She would never let me hang out with someone your age. She'd go on and on about the distractions from my studies." Akari said, rolling her eyes.

"Heh, my mother...nah, never mind." Kaii said, looking away. "I've gotta get back to my boy Taro. See ya!"

With that Kaii ran off, and Akari smiled and waved.

_Wow, today was great. I can't wait to get back to work! But I wonder what's happening with Kohaku and the others? They seem really weird whenever Bythos comes up._   _It's probably nothing, right?_

Akari returned home to a very hungry dog, and right after feeding her, hit the books, to avoid another education rant courtesy of her mother. Even as she studied, though, she couldn't help but daydream about Kaii. As long as things kept going well for her, she didn't care about the creeps of Bythos.

**|Akarharto Kosmos – Chieki Academy, School Gates|18:24 pm|**

"Wow...we're back to normal." Masato said, relieved. "So it wasn't an apocalypse after all."

"You still thought that we were in the end of the world, after all we told you?" Kei asked, in disbelief.

"A lot of things you just gotta see until you believe it." Masato said. "When Natsumi finds out what just happened, she's gonna freak out."

"You're...not going to tell her about the Shadows, are you?" Shintaro asked, concerned.

"Don't be stupid!" Masato said. "I'm talking about us, dummy. She never really believed that we could ever make up for what happened. I'm still having a hard time believing it right now."

"Well, I'm sure she and your brother will be delighted." Kohaku said. "By the way...is Hideki-san – or sensei now, I suppose - married now? I noticed he had a ring on his finger."

"Oh, not just yet. He's engaged to this really awesome girl he met in college. Well, she's a lawyer, which is all kinds of boring, but outside of work she's really cool." Masato said. "Setsuna and my big bro make a great couple. But my mother insists on being the insufferable matriarch of the family. She wants to control all the wedding plans. Like, who cares where me and Natsumi sit? Or what colour the curtains will be?"

"Your mother doesn't sound like she's changed." Shintaro said. "Your dad just goes along with whatever she says, right?"

"Yup. Good old dad, my mother's favourite doormat. About your folks...your mother's still one of those dietician types, right? And your dad still at the old elementary school?" Masato asked.

"Yup. He's considering applying for the principal's job, though. He's worked at that school since he finished college, you know." Shintaro said.

"Um...one question, Kei-san. We were on the rooftop a moment ago, right? How come we're outside the gates now?" Kohaku asked.

"The teleportation app seems to allow us to warp to several different points of a bookmarked area. For example, if we were inside Chieki right now, we could go between the different floors, the practice building, or the disused basement." Kei said.

"You sure sound like a pro at this already." Masato said, impressed. "I didn't even know our school  _had_  a basement, and I've been here for over a year. How would you misuse it, though?"

"...Disused, Masato." Shintaro said, grinning. Kohaku couldn't help but snort, trying to hide a giggle.

"Ah, shaddup. But seriously guys, I think I need to get home. If I'm late for dinner, my mother's going to flip over the table again. But I want to get better at using Camulus. So..."

"Yes, that's a good idea. We should meet tomorrow after school. But we need a better meeting place than Chieki or Kansei." Kei asked.

"Good point. Some of the students here take the rivalry between schools really seriously. You've probably got some guys in Kansei who are just the same. Right?" Masato asked.

"Well, there is that annoying athlete in the year above us, who always goes on about 'crushing' you guys. I know he's our senpai, but he was just a pain to be around." Shintaro said.

"You mean Katashi-senpai?" Kohaku said. "I will admit he's a little full of himself. And sports rivalries are just tiresome for me. I do like friendly competition, but people like Katashi take it way too far. Even so, he's sort of a school hero."

"More of a school zero, if you ask me..." Shintaro said, shaking his head.

"I've got an idea. I've read about a place in Totsuka called Sogen Park. I saw a sign for it when we were going from the mall to Mizuho. It's a lot bigger than Midori Park, so perhaps we can meet there tomorrow after school." Kei said.

"Okay! I love hanging out there anyway. I'll be waiting there for you guys after school, around that marble fountain in the center." Masato said. "Anyway, I better get home. See ya tomorrow, guys. Shintaro, it was great getting to see you again."

"Yeah...same to you, buddy." Shintaro said.

Overjoyed, Masato ran in the direction of his house, with a spring in his step. Shintaro turned back to the two girls.

"It's true that we can't make things like they were before..." Kohaku said. "We talk about forgiveness right now, but we'll always remember what happened during middle school."

"True. But you share happy memories with Masato and his sister too." Kei said, wisely. "And I've got a good feeling that even more good memories are to come."

"You got a sixth sense, Kei?" Shintaro asked, laughing.

"Maybe, maybe not..." Kei said, playfully. "If we're going to be spending more time with Masato, then we'll inevitably see Natsumi as well."

"But we can't just tell her about Shadows and Personas." Kohaku said. "...I really want to see her again, though. After today, I want to tell her what Shintaro was able to tell Masato. If he had the courage to say it, then...I know I can do it too."

"...You two really are soul mates, aren't you?" Kei asked.

"I never really thought about it like that." Shintaro said.

"It's a nice way to put it, though." Kohaku said. "...Shintaro. Are we too late to go to your place for dinner?"

"Well, it might take a while if we go on foot, but I think there's a bus near here that will take us close enough to my house. And after all that fighting, I'm hungry." Shintaro said.

"Same. Let's go. I'm tired of eating alone at night." Kohaku said. "...I just hope mother and father can make some time for me on Sunday. With what happened at Hanashima today, I just want things to be normal again."

"So do I." Kei said. "I'll head back to my dorm. Tomorrow, though? We'll take Masato to the mall. I want him to get some equipment. Plus, there's RainBow."

"Just wait until he sees it!" Shintaro said, laughing.

"He loves the real one enough as it is." Kohaku said. "I forgot about his sweet tooth. I doubt it's any less sweet now."

"Well, we'll put that to the test." Kei said. "Take care, you two. Get a good night's sleep." With that, Kei turned around, and began heading towards her dormitory.

"So...I looks like there's four of us now." Kohaku said.

"Yeah. It was getting a little lonely, being the only guy on the team." Shintaro said. "My grandfather's book is gone for good. But Masato...we were best friends, once upon a time. I don't want to lose that again."

"And you won't." Kohaku said. "Whatever Shadows Bythos sic upon us, we'll face them head on."

The two of them made their way to the bus stop, hoping to reach Totsuka in time for a Nakahara family dinner. A powerful friendship had been rekindled tonight. Whether or not Bythos could smoulder the flames of that friendship, time would tell.


	11. A Night of Blood

**|April 8th|Kansei High School – Foyer|8:20 am|**

Having changed into his school shoes, Shintaro was about to head into his class, when he saw Hideki walk by.

"Morning, Yoshinaga-sensei!" Shintaro said, warmly.

"Good morning – wait, Shintaro-kun?" Hideki said. "You look happier than you've done in any of my classes...you okay?"

"Better than ever." Shintaro said, happily. "Oh, and congratulations." He pointed to the silver engagement ring. "Masato told me all about it. Setsuna, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah!" Hideki said. "...Wait, are you and him friends again? Seriously?"

"What, he hasn't told you yet?" Shintaro said. "...Well, if he does, pretend it's a surprise."

"...Got it. But...this is great! I was worried about teaching your class once I saw you and Kohaku, but..."

"Worry no more, sensei." Shintaro said. "You've been a good teacher so far."

"Thanks, Shintaro. I think you'd make a good teacher someday as well." Hideki said. "You've certainly got the grades to make it there. It's a tough road though. College work is hard, and that's if you get in."

"My dad's a teacher too, remember?" Shintaro said. "I'm going to ace those entrance exams. I know I will."

"Pretty confident, kid. Well, as your teacher, and friend, I'm going to help you get there. We are friends again, right?" Hideki said.

"...Yeah." Shintaro said. "You used to have to chase after the four of us back in the day, huh? And Masato always knew the best hiding places."

"Oh yeah, finding him always took the longest. But just one piece of advice. You're still young, okay? Don't waste it. Your studies are important, but your friends even more so." Hideki said, chuckling to himself. "A bit of a cliché, huh?"

"A little, but I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Yoshinaga-sensei." Shintaro said.

"Oh, there you are, Hideki-kun!" Mrs Suzuki said, suddenly behind him.

"Whoa! Where'd you come from?" Hideki asked.

"I have a talent for appearing near unsuspecting students. It works on teachers too." Mrs Suzuki said, laughing slightly to herself. "The Principal wants a quick word with all teachers before classes start today. So we need to get to the teacher's lounge...quickly, she said."

"Ah, good old Principal Hashimoto...she reminds me of my mother. The smell, mostly." Hideki said, shuddering. Shintaro laughed, and as the teachers left, Hideki waved fondly back at him. Just as Shintaro was about to climb the stairs to the second floor, he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, hey!" Kohaku said, having just entered the school with Akari. "Morning, Taro-kun!"

"You look happier than you have all week. Ah, it's about Kohaku told me about last night!" Akari said, cheerily. "You cleared the air with Masato, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." Shintaro said. "It's not like I can forget what happened completely...but I can't just ignore the fact he's trying to face up to what he did."

"You're starting to become a real man, Shintaro. I'm proud of you." Kohaku said, happily. "So Akari, your first shift last night turned out okay?"

"Of course!" Akari said. "I even bumped into that really cute neighbour I told you about!"

"Just how many guys have you met you think are 'really cute', Akari?" Shintaro asked, amused. "Are we on four now?"

"Hey, it takes a lot to impress me. I don't just swoon over every semi-attractive man I meet!" Akari said, annoyed. "But Kaii – that's his name – is way better than all the others I've mentioned. Even cuter than Yoshinaga-sensei, Katashi-senpai, or Keiya!"

"Who's Keiya? Oh, the card guy?" Shintaro asked.

"Yeah, him. I still don't know how he did it. Or why so many people are getting these new 'Gnosis' phones." Akari said.

"...What did you say?" Kohaku asked, concerned.

"Well, you and Shintaro have them now, right? You keep trying to hide them from me, but they're the same model Kei has. And I saw Keiya using one, too!" Akari said. "Let's get to class. I wanna tell you all about Kaii!" She went off to Class 2-1, without a care in the world.

"I don't like what this means..." Kohaku said, worried. "Why would Keiya Tsukino have a Gnosis?"

"He might be like us. Someone, or  _something_ , gave him one." Shintaro said. "If he was just like Hisaya and her two boytoys, his would be red. But Akari didn't say anything about it being red, did she?"

"...True." Kohaku said. "But is Keiya an ally? Or..."

"If he truly does have a Gnosis, we'll find out for ourselves soon enough." Shintaro said. "We know that Nisa Liat and about eight others on Bythos seem to have genuine Personas. Problem is, we don't know their names."

"Then we can only hope we don't run into them...right?" Kohaku said, worried. "For now, let's just get to class and indulge Akari. Although I don't really want her going after some guy in his twenties..."

"As long as he doesn't look like EX-NIHILO, I'm sure Akari will be fine." Shintaro said. Kohaku laughed at the thought, and they went up to class.

**|After School|15:36 pm|**

The day of school had ended, and thus the first school week of the term was over. The group were just outside the front doors, and the sun was shining brightly in their eyes. Without any clouds in the sky, the school shone beautifully, even if the eight buildings around them towered over them like giants.

"I'm off. See you!" Akari said, walking off with her friend Suzu Nogami, a girl with dark brown hair in pigtails. They quickly left the school grounds, talking enthusiastically among themselves.

"So, this Kaii she's now besotted with. I'm sure he's a nice enough fellow, but to fail his entrance exams? Can't have hit the books that hard." Shintaro said, with strong disapproval in his voice.

"Hey! Those are really difficult, you know." Kohaku said, harshly. "You shouldn't be so judgemental. Just because the two of us score highly doesn't mean everyone's so lucky."

"I...I'm sorry..." Shintaro said, a little ashamed of himself.

"Hopefully he can succeed next time. There's a lot of support these days." Kei said. "So, are we going to Sogen Park?"

"That's right. We'll probably get there before Masato does, but we shouldn't wait around." Shintaro said. Before they could move forward, however, they saw a familiar face leaning against one of the larger trees, to the right of the school path. A tall, slim student, looking around, apparently waiting for someone.

"Oh, that's the guy we saw at the ticket office. Noburo, I think." Kohaku said.

"I don't remember seeing him around. Then again, we don't really hang out with the first years." Kei said. "Those  _are_  the first-year ties wear, right?"

"Yeah, they go for blue ties, we go for red. The third years take green." Shintaro said. "I don't really know if it's symbolic or not, but it makes it pretty easy to tell us all apart."

"Noburo...hmm." Kei said. "The first years and I are in the same boat, when you think about it. We're still new to this school. But you two can call this home, in a sense."

"It'll feel like home soon enough. Just keeping hanging out with us and Akari." Kohaku said, happily enough. "...Maybe we can talk to Noburo another time. We've got places to be."

"Indeed. Let's get moving." Shintaro said. "Let's see, the fastest way there would be if we take a left, then -"

"Noburo-kun! There you are!"

Running past the three students, frantic, was another first year student, a girl with pale pink hair. It was tied up in a spiky ponytail, complete with a white ribbon. She ran straight at Noburo, and flung herself into his arms. Elated to see her, he tightly embraced the petite girl with his strong arms, and gave her a long, passionate kiss.

"...Did we just stumble into a shojo series?" Shintaro asked.

"Only a week of school and they're already digesting each other." Kohaku said, dryly.

"Jealous, are we?" Kei asked, winking.

"No way!" Kohaku said. "He's not that handsome! Uh...um..."

"I'm only teasing, Kohaku...you don't have to get that upset." Kei said, laughing. "They do look happy together, though. Although those other girls over there don't seem so pleased." She pointed to a trio of girls, also from the first year, who were glaring at the loved-up girl with intense envy.

"Ah, poor things." Shintaro said, sarcastically. "Anyway, time for Sogen Park! I'll lead the way." Shintaro said.

The group continued walking down the path, trying not to look at Noburo and his beloved, and ventured outside of the school grounds. Sogen Park was not too far, and on a warm sunny day like this, the walk would be quite pleasant. Not so much in the Theio Kosmos of course, what with Shadows roaming around, but at least there wouldn't be rain.

**|Sogen Park|16:15 pm|**

Sogen Park, located in the north of Totsuka, was a grand beauty of a park, filled with tall trees, meticulously planted and arranged flowers, a myriad of ponds that attracted many ducks and birds with their beauty, and a large play-park in the north-eastern section, which had a gigantic slide.

The park was laid out into four sections of equal sizes, each separated by long white stone paths, lined with street lights resembling Chinese lanterns. In the centre of this park was a giant fountain, and within this fountain was a Norwegian-themed statue of mermaids spouting water from their mouths. On the north-west and south-east sections of the park were two competing cafes, each very popular.

"Wow! This place is even better than I remember. Reading about, that is." Kei said, looking straight ahead at the fountain.

"It's beautiful. One of my favourite places to relax." Kohaku said, smiling. "Apparently this place was inspired by one a gardener saw overseas. I think it was..."

"It's right there on the sign." Shintaro said, pointing to a large yellow sign next to the community news bulletin board. It stated that said gardener, a Toshiro Hagiwara, had traveled to New Motus City in the summer of 1975, and had the pleasure of visiting Nova Albion's Aurelia Park. Thus, he attempted to capture the beauty he saw in that park when he returned to Japan.

"New Motus City?" Kohaku said, curious. "I hardly know anything about that place."

"It's quite a cosmopolitan city, actually. Their Takanawa district is almost a miniature Japan." Kei said.

"You sound like you've been there, Kei." Shintaro said.

"My parents took me there once when I was young. My aunt was there too. It was a good trip..." Kei said, fondly.

"By the way, where exactly in this park are we meeting Masato? It's quite a big park." Shintaro asked.

"I'd go for the centre fountain. There's not too many people hanging about there, and he'll probably recognise us from the uniforms." Kohaku said.

After a short walk down the path, they reached the majestic fountain, where some people were sitting on the large edge chatting happily among themselves. Kohaku went to get some sodas from a small kiosk nearby, and while she was away, Kei and Shintaro sat on one of the white benches.

"So, Shintaro..." Kei said. "How do you feel?"

"Huh?" Shintaro said, taken aback. "Oh, about Masato?"

"Well, yes, but...I just mean in general." Kei said. "Ever since this whole thing started, we haven't had a proper chance to talk, just the two of us."

"To be honest, I'm really scared." Shintaro said. He turned to face her, and their eyes locked. He hadn't been this close with Kei before, and his heart was pounding. "Every single battle has a chance of one of us dying. I know, I shouldn't think like that, but...what if something happens? If either you or Kohaku got hurt, I'd..."

"It's alright. I think all of us feel the same way." Kei said, looking deep into Shintaro's eyes. "Truth is, I've barely slept since we discovered the Theio Kosmos. A little voice inside me wants to run away from everything, and just live a normal life as a student."

"But we can't do that, can we?" Shintaro said.

"No." Kei said. "Bythos have plans for this city, far worse than what they did in Hanashima. Doing nothing to stop them will only bring doom. There's only four of us fighting them so far – if we give up, who's left to take them down?"

"Kei..." Shintaro said. He slowly reached for her hand, and held it tight. Her face went red, but she smiled regardless. "You're right. We've come too far to run now. I'm not alone – and neither are you. We'll face this head on."

"Thank you, Shintaro." Kei said. "You've been with me ever since I came to school. This week has been challenging - but I'll always be grateful for having someone like you by my side."

"...This is a bit of a heartfelt speech, isn't it?" Shintaro said, grinning. "Not that I mind...I feel a bit happier now."

Kei looked away from him, her own face red. "Hehe...I got a bit emotional, didn't I? Well, as long as it's with you, I don't mind..."

"I'm back – oh, am I interrupting something?" Kohaku asked, carrying the cans of soda. Shintaro quickly grabbed his lychee flavoured one, and stood back up.

"Not at all." Kei said. "I was just worried about Shintaro, that's all. Our forays into the Theio Kosmos do take their toll, physically and mentally. It's another pressure on our lives, after all."

"True...but he's always been able to handle himself." Kohaku said.

"Yo!"

A certain redhead came rushing at them, and ground to a halt. Panting for breath, he wiped sweat from his brow.

"You guys been here long?" Masato asked.

"No, not really. Oh, here! You still like Cielo Mist, right?" Kohaku asked.

"Ya got that right, mon!" Masato said, in one of the worst Jamaican accents Shintaro had ever heard outside of TV.

"...Mon?" Kei asked.

"Never mind." Shintaro said. "How was school?"

"Ah, alright. God, sitting in the same class as Hama-Sama is really annoying though. All she wants to talk about his her stupid videos, and her ad revenue. Lately she keeps giving me dirty looks." Masato said.

"Who exactly is Hama-Sama, Masato?" Kei asked. "I think I've heard Akari mention her a few times."

"Her real name is Asami Hamasaki. But her fans – and there a lot in this city – keep calling her Hama-Sama. I know, it's horrible." Masato said, rolling his eyes. "Basically, she posts videos at least once a week. Mostly stuff like how to 'be yourself', 'don't give in to peer pressure', 'my top ten ways to study for exams', 'worst vending machine drinks in the city'."

"...Riveting stuff." Kei said, completely deadpan.

"I think she's pretty good at her videos, actually. She speaks from the heart on a lot of issues. It's easy to see why so many people look up to her." Kohaku said.

"Hmm, I've never seen the appeal of her material, but each to his own." Shintaro said. "I take it she's good friends with Natsumi?"

"Oh, you bet. Always going on shopping trips and giving each other makeup tutorials...I just leave them too it. Oh yeah! I didn't get around to telling you last night - I've got a girlfriend now!"

"What, really?" Kohaku asked. "That's great! What's her name?"

"Dorothy Phillips!" Masato said. "She's from New York. A Yankees girl, through and through. We met on a baseball forum. Ever since then, we've been talking every single night. And about a month ago, we were talking over an online call...and she asked me out."

"She can speak Japanese?" Kei asked, curious.

"Yeah, she's got a Japanese grandfather, so he taught her how to speak it. Pretty convenient, I know! She's not fluent just yet, and when she says the wrong words, she gets really upset...but I'm crazy about her. I'm even paying attention in English class just so I can speak her language too." Masato said, pleased with himself.

"Ah, then perhaps Shintaro can help you. He's quite multi-lingual these days." Kei said, winking mischievously at the linguist of the group. "English and French."

"French?!" Masato said. "Damn, is there enough storage in your brain to store that much info?"

"It's a beautiful language!" Shintaro said, somewhat defensive. "Plus, there's a book series – yeah I know,  _another_  one – called  _Leanne Rouge_ by this French author. Her name is Celestine Courtois. I tried to order a Japanese copy, but I ended up getting a French version instead, so I started learning how to read French, and...here we are."

"Oh, I read about her! She's living in Shinshuto for one year, to write her next book!" Kohaku said. "She's rather beautiful, too. No wonder you like her, Shintaro."

"Older women just appeal to him, it seems. First Suzuki-sensei, now Courtois-san." Kei said, amused.

Masato burst out laughing, while Shintaro wanted to die from the embarrassment.

"And you gave Akari a hard time for having so many crushes!" Kohaku said, sighing.

"Okay, can we get back to the task at hand?" Shintaro said, aghast. "We've got to get to the Theio Kosmos. Our two Totsuka destinations so are the Bella Donna and the Yorokobi Clock Tower. So we'll have to go to one of those to warp -"

"Not necessarily. Take a closer look." Kei said, looking at the fountain. When she went to the edge, she saw another QR code, printed on the stone – but it was no ordinary code.

"Just how many places in town have these?" Masato asked.

"It's beginning to feel like every significant location in this city has one." Kohaku said.

"Quite. Masato, will you do the honours?" Kei asked.

The baseball maniac nodded, and grabbed his Gnosis out of his pocket. "Aye aye, captain!" He opened the camera app, and took a scan of the code. In mere moments, the four of them were whisked away to the other version of this park. And no one seemed to bat an eyelash at the quartet of disappearing schoolchildren.

**|Sogen Park, Theio Kosmos|16:23 pm|**

The alternate version of this place was much eerier than Shintaro had expected. The fountain seemed almost alive when he looked at it – or at least, it felt like all of the mermaids were staring directly at him. The grass and flowers had an unearthly dark blue tint to them, and there was a mist gathering around each of the lights.

"Huh. This is kinda trippy." Masato said, blinking. "This place looks really weird compared to the normal one. But Chieki didn't seem that different when we were there last night. What's up with that?

"There must be something about this Kosmos we don't know yet..." Shintaro said. "It's not simply just another version of Shinshuto City with Shadows running around. Some buildings look far different than they do here. Like Hanashima Hospital."

"...Yes. Everything was so turbulent with Masato and EX-NIHILO, so I didn't have a chance to bring that up. But what on earth was going on with the Hospital?" Kohaku said. "How could it be an actual island over here?"

"Clearly, we're not familiar with the fundamentals of this world to understand that just yet. But let's go to Bella Donna for now. It's time for Masato to stock up on some supplies, and learn more about this world." Kei said.

"Cool!" Masato said. "Let's go, then. This park is creepy as hell..."

The team vanished from the area, leaving it in a state of ethereal tranquillity. One that would soon be disrupted.

**|Bella Donna|16:25**

"So Kei, where are you from?" Masato asked, as they arrived.

"Oh, I'm from Yokohama. Home of the BayStars, as you of course know."

"Sweet!" Masato said, joyously. "Their stadium's amazing! But I've still never been. Wish I could see a game there..."

"Doesn't Shinshuto have a baseball stadium?" Kei asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't even compare to the one in Yokohama." Masato said. The group were heading to the 'Arms Race', which had a banner of a flexed arm holding a rather large sword, and silhouettes of other weapons adorning the rest of the sign. "Isn't Shinshuto kind of a downgrade from Yokohama?

"It's not that much smaller. And, well...the reason I came to Shinshuto is to find out-" Kei said, but she suddenly stopped. Gulping, she walked on.

"...Find out what?" Masato said.

"Nothing. Nothing at all!" Kei said, laughing forcefully. She walked in, tense.

_You're so weird sometimes, Kei. What kind of life did you have in Yokohama? I suppose I shouldn't press her on it. She'll tell us in due time, if she wants to..._

**|Arms Race|16:28 pm|**

The minute the group entered here, they were blasted with intensely loud electric guitar music, blaring from an overhead speaker.

"Oww! My ears!" Shintaro screamed.

"Oh my god! I love this song!" Kohaku said, excited - and somehow unfazed by the song's volume. She began tapping her feet with the rhythm. "It's  _Armageddon Armistice_ by -"

As if by magic, a giant stage appeared behind the counter, with a hole inside. From below a platform raised the performer to the shop floor.

Shintaro blinked a few times to take in what he was seeing. This was a man with a giant mowhawk that was deep pink, with red highlights. The rest of his head was covered with tattoos of what appeared to be Greek gods, each one meticulously detailed. Donned in a long black leather coat, that was opened to reveal a blue t-shirt with a red logo, he also had ripped jeans and black leather pointed shoes.

" - the Titan Tyrant!" Kohaku finished, excitedly.

"What the hell...?" Masato said, seemingly just as confused as Shintaro. "You know this guy, Kohaku-chan?"

"Not intimately, but he's Kazushi Hiramoto. On stage, he's Titan Tyrant. Hence the tattoos on his head. You know, the Greek Titans." Kohaku said.

"They don't look like the ones Hercules defeated..." Masato said.

"...The  _actual_  Greek Titans, Masato." Kohaku said, exasperated. "Although that was a good movie. Anyway -"

"Ah, we got a fan in the pantheon! What's your name, girly?" The Tyrant asked. He put aside his rather large electric blue guitar, and walked down the stage to the counter. Shintaro noticed that one of his eyes had a bright blue contact in it. At least, he assumed it was a contact.

"It's Kohaku! But what are you doing in the Theio Kosmos?"

"Ah, it's a long story. But I like hearing myself talk – killer voice, right? So here we go!" The Tyrant flopped black onto a chair, a rather tacky one that supposedly was meant to evoke Ancient Greece. "So, you guys will all have those black Gnosis phones. Right?"

"Yes. We still don't know anything about them. They can do everything a normal smartphone can, but in this world, they act as a conduit for summoning Personas. As well as other paranormal functions." Kei said.

"Paranormal? You mean  _cool_!" The Tyrant said. "Well, here's the thing. One night, I get back home earlier than normal. It's weird being home at midnight. There's a package at my door, no return address. Not even a shipping label or anything. Thinking it's just another gift from one of my ever growing legion of fans, I open it. And what do I find?"

He reached inside his jacket's pocket, and pulled out a green smartphone. A Gnosis, no doubt. He turned it on, and it showed the same OS – albeit with completely different applications.

"The minute I turn it on, it warps me here. And this baby goes on and on about how I can set things up so people with these Persona devices can come here to get weapons. Basically, this is a 'Merchant' style of the Gnosis you guys have. Weird, though...you're the first customers I've had in a long while with black ones."

"...Do your other customers have red ones?" Shintaro asked.

"Then, you're in league with Bythos!" Masato shouted.

"Whoa, slow down there, slugger! I ain't on anyone's side. Aside from my rocking music – new album's on sale by the way, pick up a copy sometime – I'm really into weapons. These aren't just any weapons, though. They're made up of energy that fills this entire 'Kosmos'. That's why you're able to make them pop in and out of these phones at any time." The Tyrant said, grinning.

"So...do you know who sent you the Gnosis now?" Kohaku asked.

"Nope. But it's cool. Another thing, you know how Shadows sometimes drop random junk when you beat them?" The Tyrant said. "Give that junk to me. You can send that stuff to me, and sell it. With that stuff, I can use an app to create even better weapons. Problem is, I ain't got a Persona myself, so I can't use any of these weapons. This shop's Shadow-proof, though."

"...I see." Kei said. "So are there others who were sent these Merchant Gnosis devices?"

"There are a few guys, yeah." The Tyrant said, putting his feet up on the table. "There's that crazy lady in RainBow -"

"Yes! We gotta go there next!" Masato squealed with delight.

" -and there's some other woman running some weird crystal healing place. Basically, just pop in there and she'll heal you right up. Not for free, obviously. We gotta make a living somehow. Out of the money I get from this job, 50% of it goes straight to me, the other goes...somewhere else, I guess." The Tyrant said. "I don't always have to be here to make this shop work. But I gotta come in at least once a week, according to this thing."

"Cool! Then let's hurry up and get a weapon for me! Then we can check out RainBow!" Masato said.

"Your sweet tooth strikes back..." Shintaro said, amused.

"Yeah! Let's see..." Masato said, looking at the rack of basic weapons. There was the same type of rapier, katana and naginata that the other three had. Yet he was struggling to find one he liked the look of. "...I got it!"

"Got what?" Shintaro said.

"Why not just go with what I know best?" Masato said. He had pulled out a baseball bat from one of the shelves, and this one was no ordinary regulation bat – it was heftier, and dark blue with a yellow bolt on the upper end.

"Not bad, Masato. That looks like it'd hurt." Kohaku said.

"Yeah!" Masato said. "So, how much do I owe ya...uh...Tyrant-san?"

The Tyrant laughed out loud. "It's just Tyrant. And your first weapon is free. You gotta start somewhere, right? But that's the weakest baseball bat here. I've got tons of different weapons you can get here. Some of them are pretty out there...one guy's even using cards to kill Shadows."

"Cars?" Masato said. "...How does that work? Hit and run? Must be one hell of a car."

"No, he said cards." Kei said. "...Hang on. Cards? Who bought those?"

"Hey now, I can't go telling you about what other customers have come in so far. But let's see...I can tell you how many I've had. Other than the red Gnosis guys – cause who cares about them but themselves – there's been about fifteen guys with the black ones. You guys make it nineteen, I guess. That right?" The Tyrant asked.

"...Nineteen Persona users." Shintaro said.

"Wait. I thought there were eight of these Aeon Administrators. Add Nisa Liat to that, we get nine. Then who are the other seven...?" Kohaku asked.

"Eight Aeon Admins? Word to the wise, they actually found a new guy a few days ago. But that's all I can really say. Apparently, if I blab too much about other customers, I'll get 'suspended'. I don't really wanna know what happens after that, so there you go." The Tyrant asked.

"So we're up to nine of these guys  _and_ a crazy Princess?" Masato said. "Man, we gotta get ready to kick all of their butts!"

"...Not even scared?" Shintaro asked.

"Not one bit! They could have a thousand of these Aeon Admins, and I'll beat them all!" Masato said.

"We'll be off..." Shintaro said. "See you another time, Tyrant."

"Yeah! I'll be seeing your show in June!" Kohaku said.

"Catcha later, my Amber Belle!" The Tyrant said, winking. As the group left, he continued playing his songs live, to no one in particular. Shintaro wondered if perhaps he considered the tattoos on his head the audience.

_Well, he might be good at selling these things, but I think I'll let Kohaku go to his gigs herself._

**|RainBow|16:37 pm|**

"Wow!" Masato said, running around and gazing at all the apparatus. "This place is way better than that crazy mohawk guy's store! It all look so good!"

"It does, yes." Kei said, watching the red-haired teenager roaming around in amusement. "Has he always been this obsessed with sweets?"

"Oh yeah. Although I figured he'd have grown out of it by now." Shintaro said, grinning.

"It's like something out of a kid's book, this place." Kohaku said. "Shintaro, you know the one I'm talking about right?"

"Course I do. This seems weird even by that book's standard, though. Like, that strange machine with all the flashing lights. Look at how fast it's pumping out candy floss." Shintaro said.

Masato looked up at this machine, and smiled in amazement. Just then, however, something came hurtling down – a giant rainbow chair on a cloud-shaped platform. Sitting on this chair was a girl dressed in a dark purple suit, that seemed to be covered in sprinkles. The cuffs and collars were a light blue, and this girl was also wearing a rather large top hat – one that seemed to have chocolate oozing down.

"Whoa! Where did you come from?!" Masato screamed, falling onto his bottom yet again.

"She's prettier than the Tyrant, anyway." Shintaro said, blushing a little.

"Welcome, favoured – and possibly flavoured - guests! Especially you, my candy-craving friend!" The girl said, pointing at Masato. "By day, I am but the dutiful maid Reiko Ishitani, at your service! But by night, I can finally unleash my true genius. I am the heir to the RainBow fortune, the pot of gold that grows by the day!"

"Heir?!" Kohaku said.

"Of course. My parents run the business, and are millionaire. I, of course, intend to take up the mantle one day. I'll of course need to complete college, but if that's as easy as passing the entrance exams, then I'll be Master Raine of RainBow before you know it. That's my name here in this world, by the way. Say it with pride and admiration!"

"...Entrance exams? Easy?" Shintaro said.

"Rote memorisation is child's play. I want to use my gifts to invent crazy new chocolates! Fantastic new sweets! Here, in this world, I can let my imagination run wild, and create technology impossible in the restraints of the Akarharto Kosmos. This green Gnosis – which the Tyrant explained to you before, I hope – has opened the floodgates. I will be the Master of RainBow in both Kosmos!"

"...This girl's crazier than the Tyrant, too." Kei said, quietly. Shintaro nodded, but Masato was eager.

"Hey, um...I'm new. What do you recommend?" He asked. "Wait a minute. You guys said this stuff restores your health after battle? How does that even work? Aren't these just ordinary candy?"

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Master Raine said. She got up from her chair, and walked over to some of the toffees on the light pink shelves. "The ones in Akarharto are ordinary – in the sense that they're made of normal ingredients. The ones here, though? They're made entirely via mind matter. It's like the weapons the Tyrant told you about. These sweets stay in your Gnosis and can be retrieved later when needed."

"So they're more of a placebo? Is that what you're saying?" Kohaku asked.

"That's quite close, Teruya-san. They won't affect your actual metabolism, and you won't actually be digesting them after you eat them. But their taste and sensation remain the same. And those will give you the energy you need. Some of them simply replenish spent health. Some others will cure whatever ails you. Others? That's a secret. I'm always working on new products." Master Raine said, grinning with pride.

"Interesting." Shintaro said. "When we first arrived on Monday, no one was here, so -"

"Ah, that's right. I got a notification you three received some of the free packs. As far as I understand it, a 'Merchant' like myself has to make at least one appearance in this store every week for it to remain. Not that I mind. This version of the store is far more fun than the real life one. I'd spend all day here if I didn't have other commitments. But that's life." Master Raine said.

"So do I get another free pack?!" Masato asked, cheerily.

"Hmm." Master Rain stared intently at Masato, scrutinizing his face carefully. "...You may make a fine test subject one day. I'm sure a boy like you would scream with joy at the chance to taste the many new flavours I plan to introduce to this store. So here you go!"

She pressed a button on her Gnosis, and a bag of basic sweets appeared in front of Masato. He took it in his hand, only for them to vanish into his own phone.

"That's all I can give your group for free. From this point on, I expect cold hard cash. Although I accept all major credit cards, cheques, human souls...just kidding about that last one!" Master Raine said, giggling.

"Thank you, Master Raine! I'll be back, I swear!" Masato said.

"Of course you will. Don't get beaten, stabbed, crushed, or whatever it is Shadows can do to you, okay?" Master Raine said. "Right...now then, how many things can I invent this week? Ten, twenty..."

The group decided to leave Master Raine to it, and ventured outside – hearing a loud explosion and crazed laughter behind them.

"So, what do you guys wanna do now?" Masato asked.

"I've not really thought about it." Kei said. "But we could explore Sogen Park a little more. There was something odd about that place..."

"That's fine with me. I love going there anyway!" Kohaku said. "...The normal one, anyway."

"Then let's just warp there and save some time." Shintaro said. "One, two...three!"

Upon his command, the Gnosis whisked them all away to the park, just as billowing pink smoke and Catherine Wheel fireworks came flowing out of RainBow's whimsical doors.

**|Sogen Park|16:58 pm|**

The second the group arrived, they realised they had company. And not particularly welcoming company, either.

"Oh no..." Shintaro said, shuddering. "You all again? Really?"

The group were surrounded by another one – specifically, the three members of the Claret Squad. Fumihiro and Ryosei were grinning evilly, while Hisaya was full of indignation.

"I've been waiting for this. You think you can get away with humiliating us? Think again, you morons! I'll crush you into dust!" Hisaya taunted.

"Who the heck are these guys?" Masato asked.

"Don't you remember what we told you last night? These are Bythos soldiers. They call themselves the Claret Squad. They're pretty weak overall, though..." Shintaro said, disdainfully.

"Oh, fuck you! We're not as weak as we were last time." Hisaya said, withdrawing her knives. "It doesn't even matter if you've got a fourth guy on your team. We'll kill you this time for sure!"

"Huh? Wait a minute!" Fumihiro said, looking at Masato with shock. "That's the guy that was suppose to die last night!"

"Yeah, that's right." Ryosei said. "Why the Aeons want to kill him so much, I dunno, but -"

"Guys?! They  _can_  hear you!" Hisaya said, irritated. "But since we're here, let me ask you a little question. Did you think that EX-NIHILO was on your Gnosis by accident?"

"...What do you mean?" Masato asked, apprehensively. "The heck is this about me dying? Did you guys put the Gnosis in my bag?!"

"Dumb as rocks..." Ryosei said. "You and Fumihiro have a lot in common."

"Yeah, like this guy has the balls to try to kill a teacher." Fumihiro said, yawning.

"Don't you get it? That Gnosis was put in your bag for a reason! Not by us, though. It's all because someone in the Aeon Admins wanted you to die. And not in a calm, peaceful way either!" Hisaya said.

"What? Why me? I've never even met any of these Admins!" Masato said. "Why'd they be trying so hard to kill me?"

"...Never met one? Are you  _sure_ about that?" The knife-toting girl said, grinning wickedly. "You don't even know any of their names or faces. What makes you so sure that you've never, ever come across one of them?"

"Whatever this is, you're not going to succeed." Kohaku said. "We defeated you once before."

"And we will again." Kei said. "You want to fight us so badly? Then let's go!"

"Alright! Time to die!" Hisaya screamed, pulling out her knives "Go! Mermaid!"

Having lost the evil bird, Hisaya had been bestowed a green haired mermaid with a silver tail, with similar scales covering parts of her torso. She was perched on a rock, with waves crashing on it out of nowhere, and spiralling around her were two skulls, that were set aflame.

"You made a fool of me last time. I don't like it when that happens...so you're not gonna like what I'm gonna do with you! Bilwis!"

Fumihiro's new Persona was an almost cartoon-like depiction of the Bavarian/Austrian demon. With solid yellow slits for eyes, and a diminutive, simple blue body, it held a giant rake and had small sickles locked around its feet, and a bag of hay on its back.

"Gagyson, come forth!" Ryosei said, calling upon his new Persona. This one was a deep pink bird-like creature, with an almost humanoid body and large bat-like wings, complete with a long pointed tail.

"Nice Personas. I'll have to get them on my own Gnosis sometime." Kei said. "Course, mine will probably end up being stronger than yours..."

"Ugh! You're so confident, aren't you?!" Hisaya shouted. "Well, how confident will you be after I stab you to death?!"

"...I guess we'll burn that bridge if we cross it. A pretty big if, of course!" Kei said, rolling her eyes. "Go! Ostara! Petal Step!"

Her faithful Persona sent forth her sharpened petals at Hisaya, piercing her badly. Annoyed, she called forth the watery power of her Mermaid, in the form of an Aqua. She sent it at Masato, who doubled over with pain as soon as he was hit.

"Argh! That hurts, you whore!" Masato yelled.

"Oh, that hurts my feelings!" Hisaya said, pretending to cry. "Too bad for you I like hurting bodies more. Just like what I did to my father!"

She dashed at Masato, but her blades were blocked by Kohaku's naginata.

"...You killed your own father?!" Kohaku asked, horrified. "How could you?!"

"Like I need to explain why to a perfect sheltered student like you!" Hisaya screamed. "But thanks to Bythos, I got a chance to escape from reality! This is the only world I can live freely in now!"

"Killing your father was an 'escape' for you?" Kei said. "That's...!"

_I can't believe I forgot it. It was in the newspapers about a month ago. A man in some dingy apartment block was found stabbed to death, but the police weren't able to find any evidence. If someone like Hisaya is in Bythos, what are their bosses capable of...?!_

"We've got to fight them..." Masato said, stepping forward. He summoned his baseball bat at last, and without relent, he struck Hisaya hard. "You're sure as hell not going to kill us!"

"Damn straight! Masato-kun, we'll do this together!" Shintaro shouted. "Ogma!"

With a quick Rakukaja, he bolstered the newcomer Masato's defences.

"Hey, what did that spell do?" Masato asked.

"It makes you take less damage." Shintaro said. "Enjoy it while it lasts!"

"Enjoy?" Masato said. "...I feel a bit tougher after that, actually. And I think I know how to make it even better! Camulus! GO!"

For the first time in a proper fight, Masato summoned his Persona. The initial rush of power he felt upon its release was gone, but he was in control. Via instinct, he cast upon himself Tarukaja.

"Hell yeah!" Masato said. "I'm gonna beat these guys faster than it takes for me to remember all their names! Let's see, Tattoo Boy, Knife Psycho, Curly-haired spear waste of space...yeah, that'll do."

"Damn little upstart!" Ryosei tried to pierce Masato with his spear, but his target leaped out of the way, and swung hard across the face with his bat. "Argh! Are we really going to stand a chance against four Persona users?" He asked, cautious. "I know we were given more compatible Personas, but -"

"Quit your bitching! We've fought tons of Shadows ever since we started with Bythos. We'll win for sure!" Fumihiro said. He crackled his knuckles, and stomped the ground. "Bilwis, you fat piece of shit, kill something!"

Bilwis, apparently ignoring his master's complete lack of respect, swung his scythe with a powerful Scratch, hitting Shintaro sharply. Wincing, Shintaro hit back with his sword, jabbing as fast as he could.

"Shintaro! Be careful!" Kei said. She stared down Ryosei, and their weapons clashed loudly. He held his spear tightly, desperately trying to block her attacks. His weapon seemed more than able to stand up to her attacks – perhaps that was on advantage of these weapons being made up of pure data, rather than actual physical matter.

"You're tougher than you look, Ryosei." Kei said. "I'm guessing you haven't attempted or committed murder, either. It's a pity you're associated with scum like her and him."

"Oh, and you're a saint?" Ryosei said.

"I'm well aware of my own faults." Kei said, darkly. "But I will never go down your path of evil! Ever!" Her anger surprised him, enough for him to lower his guard – and be struck across the chest in the process.

"This society needs reform. How could a child like you understand?" Ryosei said. "The amount of pressure on every facet of society is far too great for us to handle anymore. We'll rebuild Japan...starting with this touted new utopian city!"

Before Kei could offer a rebuttal, he and Gagyson summoned forth the atomic energy to form the Frei spell. It exploded, hurting Kei rather badly. It seemed Ostara wasn't so resilient to Nuclear attacks...

"Kei, are you alright?!" Shintaro asked.

"I...I'm fine..." Kei said, wincing.

"Take this!" Kohaku yelled, slashing Ryosei from behind. He collapsed to his knees – and Kohaku kicked him hard. Fumihiro came rushing at her, but his wild fists hit nothing but air as she somersaulted away – higher than she thought possible. Further back from all the fighting, she summoned Airmid. "Magna!"

Fumihiro was struck badly by the power of Earth, stumbling from the impact. Shintaro tried to strike him again, but the tattooed criminal rolled away, and punched him hard across the face.

"Hehe! Bilwis, go give him something else to cry about!" Fumihiro ordered. The Persona, laughing slightly, sent a bright purple ball of miasma at Shintaro. Coughing, Shintaro felt himself suddenly overcome by a strange, yet uncomfortable, sense of sickness. Poison, in other words.

"Ugh! That damn Poisma spell!" Kei said, annoyed. "I didn't think he'd use it. I never bother using it myself."

"What? Why not?" Kohaku asked, trying to swerve away from Hisaya's knives. She swung them with immense skill, as if they were extensions of her own body.

"It's so much faster to just attack and kill Shadows." Kei said.

"...You know, she's right. Why not just go all out and attack, Fumihiro?!" Hisaya screeched.

"Quit yelling at me! It'll make him easier to wear down and kill!" Fumihiro said, proud of his strategy.

"Not before I get rid of you first." Kei said. "Come forth! Jack Frost!"

A new Persona appeared from Kei – one that Shintaro didn't remember seeing before. It was a rather cute ice fairly, with an adorable smile and blue hat.

" **Hee-ho! I'll cool down things for you all tonight, ho!"**

It clicked its fingers, and a large clump of ice in the form of a Bufu spell hit Fumihiro. This hurt him gravely, as he fell to his knees reeling from the pain.

"Not bad, Kei." Shintaro said, sweating. This affliction he was under was unpleasant. Getting rid of it was paramount. But how could one remove this Poison?

"Camulus!" Masato cried. He sent a bolt of lightning at Hisaya – via the Zio spell. Shocked, she struck back, striking him with her knives – her favourite 'toys'. "Oww!"

"Like these knives? I've had a lot of practice with them! Course, they're actual weapons, so they give me an edge over a piece of shit like you!" Hisaya taunted. "Maragi!"

Flames spread out, and singed everybody – hurting Kei especially. Jack Frost may have the power of ice, but hee did not cope well with flames, ho.

"Too hot for you?" Ryosei asked, glaring at Masato. "Well, let me be the one to cool you off!"

"...You couldn't think of something wittier to say?" Masato asked.

"Ah, just shut up and die!" Ryosei snapped. His Gagyson cast a Bufu of its own at him, and team were a little worse for wear from all the attacks the trio had thrown at them.

"No! I refuse to die to the likes of you!" Kohaku shouted. "Media!"

Airmid appeared. She took one look at Ryosei, and her gentle face became enraged. Upon looking at her master and her friends, however, she became calmer, and spread her healing aura around them all, curing some of their injuries.

"Thanks!" Shintaro said. However, the acidic ailment was still ravaging him inside. "Ugh...No. I can hold on a bit longer. I have to fight! Ogma!"

Retaliating, he and his Persona blasted the Claret Squad backwards with the winds of Magaru. Hisaya almost fell into the fountain, but managed to balance against the wall. Further annoyed, she hurtled forward, knives ahead, but Shintaro skillfully manoeuvred his blade – blocking stab after stab.

"You should have gone for a more elegant weapon." Shintaro said.

"Tch! I don't need to elegance to beat you!" Hisaya screamed with rage. She aimed a kick at him – and while she hit him, she got slashed badly as well. "Ugh!"

"Ow..." Shintaro moaned.

"I'll support you! Nadja, Posumudi!" Kei said, changing Personas again. The other fairy of Kei's repertoire, she cast a soothing spell of pink light – that seemed to absorb the miasma in Shintaro's body, and neutralized it in a flash. "Now! Get her!"

"Gladly!" Shintaro said. "Ogma!"

Swiftly, Ogma sent forth a Jet Flash – and while Hisaya was struck by wind, Shintaro immediately appeared behind her.

_Is it wrong to be fighting other humans like this? What if...I kill her? No, I can't think like that. They'd only do the same to us if we show mercy. This is a true battle!_

He struck Hisaya from behind, finishing with a upward swing. He leaped back to the group, smirking.

"Nice, Taro-kun!" Kohaku said.

"You were great earlier too!" He said back.

Fumihiro and Ryosei, snarling, came rushing at them, and before long, they were in a major scuffle, weapons flying everywhere. The Claret Squad may have lacked any genuine Personas, but their combat skill were clearly on top form. Yet in the eyes of Shintaro, these three were pure evil. They deserved no respect, only a trouncing defeat.

"Guys, get a grip!" Hisaya shouted. "...Fine! Malaqua!"

Her Mermaid, while beautiful, had a haughty air. She did a headstand on her rock, and sent the waves of Malaqua to attack all four of her foes – once again causing great pain to Masato.

"Heh! Thanks, Hisaya!" Ryosei said. "Your natural Persona powers aren't a ticket to victory! Rakunda!"

Gagyson, with a loud caw, sent forth the diminishing curse at Kei – lowering her guard. Fumihiro, laughing, wasted no time in summoning Bilwis. Rather than use his scythe, he steered the wind of Garu at Kohaku, knocking her to the stone ground.

"Argh! You...scumbag!" Kohaku yelled.

"Go easy on him, Haku-chan." Shintaro said, helping her up. He saw Ryosei charging with his spear, and got ready to block. "Not. Gonna. HAPPEN!"

"Dammit...you're so protective of her! What, is she your girlfriend or something?!" Ryosei said.

"Maybe I'm just friends with people who  _aren't_ murderers or sociopaths!" Shintaro said, glaring at his enemy.

"So what? Fumihiro and Hisaya are victims of an unjust world..." Ryosei said, bitterly. "Even if we tried to tell you, you're too self-righteous to listen!"

"Speak for yourself! We don't need Bythos to become stronger. I can make up for my mistakes without becoming like you!" Masato yelled. "Camulus! Iron Impact!"

The war god Camulus appeared, and with a strong hit of his club, he sent Ryosei flying in the air. His body landed with a heavy thud on the concrete ground near the fountain, and he groaned with pain.

Shintaro whistled, impressed, while Masato punched the air with pride.

"Hell yeah! We're gonna beat these three in no time!" Masato cheered.

"Don't be too cocky. Here!" Kohaku said, casting another Media. The group were healed up again. Shintaro wondered if either Gagyson, Bilwis or Mermaid had healing spells as well.

"Dammit, why can't you heal us like before?!" Ryosei asked, annoyed, as he stood up.

"Cause they didn't give me a Persona with healing spells, okay?" Hisaya said. "Why do I have to be the team nurse? I'm sick of looking after you two!"

"That's...disgraceful." Kohaku said. "I never asked to have healing spells myself. But it's an honour to heal my friends! Maybe if you felt that same way, you'd have a chance of developing a real Persona."

"You're not even human at heart, Hisaya." Shintaro said. "You're nothing but a worthless demon!"

"Yeah! So go to hell!" Masato added.

"...I kind of feel their statements had more gravitas than yours." Kei said, raising her eyebrow.

"Hey, keeping it short and sweet works for me!" Masato said, cheerily.

"You think I'm just a demon? Like father, like daughter, right?" Hisaya said. "If you knew just how hard growing up was in that apartment, then – no! I'm not going to waste my breath on you!"

"The pain of your upbringing must have been truly tragic, yes..." Kei said, with an air of pity. "You can't simply strive to cause others pain. That won't heal whatever pain is in your heart. My friends think of you as a demon because you haven't shown them any other side to you."

"W-What?" Hisaya said. "I don't have to change who I am because of some speech of yours! I hate my dad! Even though he's dead, he's still there, in my nightmares! I can't get away from him!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

_Her father must have been an awful person. The full story must be even worse than I can imagine. Hisaya Ueda, you've suffered badly. Some day, I hope you find the help you need. Until then, if you insist on killing all three of us...then I'll fight you to my dying breath!_

"Ryosei! Fumihiro!" Hisaya shouted, stomping the ground. "Team up! NOW!"

"Oh, a Fusion attack! Nice!" Fumihiro said. "You ready, Ryosei?"

"I'll do whatever it takes!" Ryosei said. "Gagyson, ascend!"

"Bilwis, you fucker, get in there!"

Gagyson began menacingly chanting, and became surrounded by tiny ice crystals. Bilwis, in the meanwhile, prepared to lash out with its rake any minute, laughing evilly. Eventualy, the ice crystals grew larger, and surrounded Bilwis – fusing with it and its claw. The creature became made of solid ice, and skating across the ground, it slashed Shintaro viciously with its  **Arctic Claw**.

"Argh!" Shintaro screamed in pain, doubling over. "No..."

"Shintaro, no! Please, hang on!" Kohaku screamed, eyes wide with horror. "Airmid, please! Clocha Ghlais!"

Airmid, gazing at Shintaro with an almost motherly concern, summoned the healing stone – its waves of restorative light bathed the team of four, giving them both vitality and hope. The stone quickly became a burden of death, and was hurled at Ryosei, sending him backwards into the fountain.

"Argh! You..." Soaking wet, he leaped back out, and stabbed forward at Kohaku – but someone else had leaped behind him. With a huge whack to the head, Ryosei fell down, in too much pain to continue. "Bastard!"

"Ha!" Masato said, twirling his bat in his head.

"You're pretty tough. I guess being part of a group of school bullies teaches you something!" Hisaya said.

"...How'd you know about that?!" Masato shouted.

"Uh, hello?" Hisaya said, irritated. "Did you forget what I said earlier? One of our superiors wants you dead! Problem is, you're harder to kill than we thought."

"Gee, sorry." Masato said, sticking his tongue out.

"...Mermaid! Maragi!" Hisaya shouted. Burning flames scorched the battlefield, and their heat was painful just to watch. She was at the end of her tether...desperate to prove herself.

"Shintaro!" Kei called. "It's time you and I joined forces."

"...But you guys are already in the same time, right?" Masato said, blinking in confusion.

"She means a Fusion Skill, dummy." Kohaku said.

"Kei! Let's go! Ogma, give it your best shot!"

"Ostara, I'm counting on you!"

" **Whirling Step!** "

Ogma's sword became a baton, as he conducted the winds that billowed through the park. Ostara held out her arms, floating above the ground, and before long, her petals became guided by the wind of justice, slashing through all three opponents before them. Finally, when they were done, Shintaro felt a sudden burst of strength.

"Yes!" Shintaro said. "Kei, that was awesome!"

"I couldn't have done it without you, Shintaro." Kei said, smiling. They gave each other a high five, blushing at each other.

"Damn...damn you all to hell! We're not getting  _anywhere_ , are we?!" Hisaya screamed.

"They're much stronger than we thought. Should we retreat like before?" Ryosei asked, barely able to stand.

"We've already failed once. What do you think would happen if we failed twice?! You went to college! You should be able to figure this out!" Hisaya barked.

"Well, we'd probably be tortured and executed..." Fumihiro said, pondering this to himself.

"Exactly! The Princess doesn't tolerate failure, and you know it! And I'm not going to let that happened, not after all this time!" Hisaya said. "I won't give up! Not until all four of you are  _dead_!"

"These three are relentless..." Kei said, disturbed.

"To be fair, we have basically insulted them throughout the entirety of this battle. They're gonna be at least a little pissed off." Shintaro said.

"I'm just glad there's only three of them." Masato said. "C'mon, we can take them down if we just keep fighting as -"

Before he could find this, however, all three members of the Claret Squad were surrounded by a dark seal circle, that was glowing a dark blue outline. It began absorbing darkness itself from the atmosphere, then caused a terrifying dark explosion of both black and navy smoke, that towered over the whole of Sogen Park. When it was over, Hisaya and the two boys were defeated, lying on the ground, and completely unconscious.

"...Huh?!" Kohaku said. "What just happened?!"

"I don't know! That wasn't me!" Shintaro said, panicking.

"Me either. None of my Personas have any skills like that." Kei said. "But according to the Gnosis's Battle Report app, it's recorded the last attack as 'Phantom Nexus'."

"Then, someone else defeated them? Who?" Masato said, worried. "Hey, whoever's there, show yourself!"

From the west side of the park, they could make out someone walking towards them in the distance. A tall man, in his mid forties, with black hair that was slicked back, and his face sported a large amount of stubble. Judging from his stature, he was quite muscular as well – and had a rather imposing look on his face.

Masato, gulping, stepped back. Kohaku and Shintaro exchanged frightened looks, but Kei gestured for them to calm down. She stepped forward.

"Thank you for your help." She said. "My name is Kei Kakusa, sir."

"You were careless. Few places in the Theio Kosmos are safe. If I hadn't been here..." The man said, harshly. He crossed his arms, and glared at her. She stood tall and firm, however, and crossed her own arms in defiance. "Hmmph. You're not without skill, I suppose."

"...Is he bashing us, or praising us?" Masato asked.

"Let me formally introduce myself." The mystery man said, pulling up his fingerless gloves. "My name is Shigeru Komatsu, of the City Council's Education Department. And, for the past five months, I've also been the Director of the Persona & Shadow Secret Investigation Bureau."

"What kind of group is that? I've never heard of it before now!" Shintaro said. "Wait a minute. I've seen you before. At the Sodai Box Office, with your son Noburo -"

"That's quite enough." Shigeru said, frowning "Come with me, and I'll educate you further on the Theio Kosmos. Perhaps you can teach us, as well. Either way, it's to both our advantage if we cooperate. Let's be on our way – I'll send someone to collect those weaklings over there later, for questioning." He tapped his own black Gnosis, and before long, he and the group were whisked away to parts unknown.


	12. Those Who Lead Us

**|Ginumi – Grand Laguna Hotel|17:34 pm|**

The group were suddenly in what appeared to be a very sophisticated hotel suite, with dark wooden tablets and plush cream furniture. Shintaro gasped, as he saw the view from out of the sliding glass doors that lead to the balcony. After a few seconds, he realised they were in the exquisite Grand Laguna Hotel, a five star accommodation frequented by celebrities and the upper class elite.

"Wow..." Shintaro said, transfixed by the outside view.

"It's breathtaking..." Kohaku said, also astounded. While Masato was equally taken with the outside view, Kei, however, was more interested in the room itself.

"Welcome to the Golden Suite of the Grand Laguna." Shigeru said. "I should point out that we're in the Theio Kosmos version of the hotel. Of course, it's exactly the same as the Akarharto version. Those in the 'normal' suite will have no idea we're even here."

"Oh, so is this like your top secret base of operations?" Masato said.

"It's one of the meeting places we've acquired." Shigeru said. "We've guaranteed several other locations, in the event Bythos become more aware of our presence. After I send Kita-san to take the Claret Squad into custody, I suspect they'll finally be aware of our group."

"...Kita-san? Is he one of your team?" Shintaro asked.

"Correct. There are currently six members of our team." Shigeru said. He walked over to the huge HDTV, a rather upmarket 4K model, and with his phone, he was able to turn it on. There, the name 'Persona & Shadow Investigation Bureau' appeared in large red letters. Six white squares appeared beneath the letters.

"I never expected another group besides Bythos and ourselves." Kohaku said. "Especially not one part of the city's government."

Two of the squares lit up, and revealed faces. The first was Shigeru's, and his full name was displayed beneath. Even in this photograph, he had a sour looking expression. The person next to him, however, was a far more amiable looking young lady, with long blonde hair that became a ringlet as it went down, and bright blue eyes.

"Who is this woman, Komatsu-san?" Kei said.

"She's almost as pretty as my Dorothy." Masato said. "Not that I'm biased on anything."

"Let's stay focused here, Masato-kun. I don't think Komatsu-san is interested, somehow." Shintaro said, still unsure of this. Moments ago, he had been fighting the Claret Squad. Now, he was in a hotel suite most people would kill to stay in.

"Her name is Novalie Vinters, a student. You'll meet her properly once she arrives with Kita-san." Shigeru said. "She's been investigating Ginumi very thoroughly the past week. As you haven't been there in the Theio Kosmos, as far as I'm aware, you naturally wouldn't have encountered her. I, myself, have taken on the role of investigating Totsuka."

"I see. And who is Kita-san, sir?" Kohaku asked.

"He'll be arriving with Novalie shortly -"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Shigeru walked across the plush red carpet, and opened the door. There, in the flesh, was the blonde woman named Novalie. She waved at everyone, smiling. Next to her was an older man, yet he had an equally friendly expression. He had very short brown hair, with flecks of grey, and a short beard growing as well. He was dressed in a military uniform, an officer's suit complete with medals.

"Thank you both for coming." Shigeru said. "I trust you haven't been followed?"

"No, Komatsu-san, not a soul saw us make our way here. We followed the procedures as we agreed." The senior soldier said.

"So do we finally get to meet the Persona users that have been all over Totsuka and Mizuho the past week? I've been looking forward to finally meeting them!" Novalie said.

"Correct." Shigeru said, gesturing to the four students by the large table. "They're finding my presence somewhat intimidating, I feel." He seemed to be looking at Shintaro when he said this – much to the bookworm's embarrassment.

"If you smiled more often, you might not have that problem." The soldier said. Before Shigeru could react, however, the refined-looking blonde spoke up.

"Ahem, Everyone, my name is Novalie Winters. I came here from Oslo to study Political Science...and I'm also helping Mr. Komatsu with our studies into the Theio Kosmos."

"Oslo is in Norway, by the...way." Kei said, looking at Masato.

"Why are you looking at  _me_  when you say that?" Masato said, annoyed. "My brother teaches Geography for a living! I do know some things other than baseball..."

"Ah, don't let it get to you, kid. It's like this with my wife and daughter most nights. Scarier than any of my commanding officers, I tell you." The soldier said. "Ah, almost forgot. The name's Hiroyuki Kita. I've been with the JSDF Ground Forces for a long time."

"Nice to meet you both!" Shintaro said, smiling.

"Likewise." Novalie said, walking over to shake everyone's hands. Hiroyuki did the same, and the tension of the room subsided. Their friendly dispositions made them seem much more approachable than the steely Shigeru, and Shintaro was able to relax.

"Kita, we've got incapacitated Bythos soldiers in Sogen Park. I dealt with them minutes ago – you received the message, correct?" Shigeru asked.

"Oh yeah." Hiroyuki said. "No problem, Shigeru, I'll take them into custody. You kids ended up tangling with the Claret Squad, huh? All three of them are wanted by the police, for one reason or another."

"Yes...it's the second time we've had to fight them. They're awful people, no matter what their reasons for joining Bythos are." Shintaro said. "Oh, pardon me. I'm Shintaro Nakahara."

"And I'm Kohaku Teruya."

"Masato Yoshinaga, sir!"

"And my name is Kei Kakusa. I came from Yokohama. Masato attends Chieki Academy, while me, Shintaro and Kohaku are students of Kansei High School."

"I see. I've heard good things about both your schools. I wonder how they'd compare to our Norwegian school system?" Novalie said, pondering this briefly to herself. "I'll prepare us all some green tea. You deserve it, after having to endure the Claret Squad twice."

"If only I could stay for a cup...but I better get to the park before those three wake up." Hiroyuki said. "Shigeru, Novalie, you two okay to handle things from here?"

"Thank you, Kita-san. I'll take over from here." Shigeru said. "Keep up the good work."

"Will do, sir. See you kids later!" Hiroyuki said, waving as he walked out the door.

"Now you're familiar with half of our team." Shigeru said. Novalie left for the kitchen, and the group sat down. "I'd like to start by asking a few questions. But don't be frightened. Neither of you are in any trouble. I just want to know how you all came to possess Gnosis smartphones."

"Certainly, Komatsu-san." Kei said, respectfully. "On Monday, after school, me, Shintaro, Kohaku and another friend of ours went to Bella Donna. While there, I went to a computer and cellphone store, and saw the Gnosis in the used section."

Kei continued, recapping most of the events of last week. While she didn't go into the personal details involving Masato and Shintaro's past – much to their relief - she went into great detail over their fiendish encounters with EX-NIHILO, Nox, and the Claret Squad. During this, Novalie brought over some delicious looking tea and a tray full of scrumptious biscuits, much to Masato's delight.

"...That's about it so far." Kohaku said. "It's been a difficult week, but we all worked hard together to see it through."

"I see. You've certainly proven yourselves over the past week. As individuals and as a...team." Shigeru said – although he was somewhat astounded by how fast Masato was shovelling biscuits into his mouth. "It's about time we discuss our part in this story. Back in December of last year, just before the New Year, a package was delivered to Kibo-Jo – that's the city council building, you'll be aware."

_I've seen that building plenty of times. It's almost golden in colour, and shines really brightly in the sunlight. In fact, it's directly north of the Divine Nine in Totsuka. Kohaku's parents have been in there plenty, but I've never once been there._

"The Castle of Hope. It's an apt name, considering the expectations of our city." Novalie said.

"And that package contained a Gnosis?" Shintaro asked.

"Precisely." Shigeru said. "I couldn't figure out who would send me a smartphone as a gift. I hadn't dropped my wife any hints that I wanted a new phone. And my son doesn't have that kind of spare money to spend on gifts. No one at the office was expecting a gift, either."

"Your son...that's Noburo, right? We saw him and his girlfriend -"

"That's irrelevant, Nakahara." Shigeru said, angrily. "We are  _not_  here to discuss our personal lives. Are we clear?"

"...My apologies, sir." Shintaro said, fidgeting. Kohaku, sensing his fear, held his hand tightly, while staring harshly at Shigeru.

"Forget it. Moving on, I decided to go for a stroll once I was finished with the day's work, before I headed home. When I was in Sogen Park, I decided to test the Gnosis out myself..."

**|Friday 16th December 2016|Totsuka - Sogen Park|18:02 pm|**

It was a cold winter's day, with frost covering the grass. Children were excitedly jumping up at the sight of the snow, and multicoloured fairy lights had been hung up all over the park to celebrate the winter festivities. During this evening, Shigeru walked through the park via the North Gate, looking at his regular phone. There was a message from his wife, Kaiyo, asking him to pick up some tofu for a dinner she was planning at the weekend, but he had other things on his mind.

_It doesn't make sense. Why would someone end me something like this? This 'Gnosis' brand doesn't even appear to exist, at least according to my research. All I found were terms relating to Gnosticism._

After grabbing a coffee from the eastern cafe, called 'Kamiko's Tea House' – ran by a woman in geisha clothes – he took a seat by the central fountain, and watched as young couples walked by, enjoying the romance of the winter season. Shigeru had been on many long walks with his wife here – but now, he was intrigued by his Gnosis. He hesistantly took it out of the box, and noticed a distinct lack of documentation – only a simple charging lead.

_Are they trying to save costs on printing manuals? Hmm. I'll see if this thing is any use. Perhaps I'll give it to Noburo as a Christmas gift, although I've already bought him a few gifts._

When he had the phone in his hand, things felt immediately ill at ease. This device didn't feel like any phone he had ever used. Whatever material it was constructed from, it wasn't something you could find just anywhere. Hesitantly, he turned it on, and waited.

The home screen didn't resemble any of the ones he had seen. Not that he was an expert on technology – he usually left the TV or computer for his wife to handle – but this one didn't look normal either. It seemed to have the usual applications a phone would have, however. Ones relating to text messaging, playing music, various social media services, etc. But there were plenty that seemed rather ominous.

Just then, he saw something sparkle just up ahead, at the fountain. It was free of anyone standing nearby. Getting up from the bench, Shigeru walked over, and saw something he hadn't noticed before.

"...One of those codes phones can scan." He said. He didn't remember exactly what they were called, but he had seen them all over the city in recent years. Just then, the Gnosis seemed to activate a camera app all by itself. "The hell?"

_What is going on? Does this thing have a mind of its own?_

With the phone, he put the strange code in view – and after that, everything seemed to change. The screen became a bright blue, almost blindingly bright. Before he could react, however, the entire environment was engulfed by the light, and a raging wind seemed to echo through his ears.

_What's happening?!_

**|April 8th|Grand Laguna Hotel|17:52 pm|**

"Just like us..." Kohaku said.

"Mine was a little different. That damn Nihilo thing trying to ruin my phone..." Masato said, trembling at the thought.

"It was a harrowing experience." Shigeru said, looking up at the ceiling, reflecting on that fateful day. "I'm used to life being normal. I prefer to keep things mundane, and orderly. And this new world was anything but. Everyone seemed the same at first glance, but as one looks, everything starts to become different."

_I guess even someone his age would be distraught. Masato was convinced he was witnessing the world ending. I was so confused, I didn't know what to think..._

"I was terrified...but I think all of us were. My heart was pounding. I was running around ever, looking for someone, anyone else. Something that wasn't one of these Shadows..." Masato said. "No one was at my house. I was so scared I'd never see my family again..."

"...I can sympathize." Shigeru said. "Living in a world without my wife and son...would be empty. And back in December, I almost faced that possibility."

**|December 16th|Theio Kosmos – Sogen Park|18:13 pm|**

Sogen Park was seemingly completely deserted, and there was complete silence. For Shigeru, this was fast becoming a nightmare. Where did he go? What was he to do?

His regular phone didn't appear to have any signal, so there was no means to contact anyone. All he could do was run, as fast as his legs could take him. As he did, he noticed more oddities to this new world. The roads were completely devoid of moving cars. Those that had already been parked were still there, however..

"Is there anyone there?!" He called, screaming at the tough of his lungs. It had been a very long time since he raised his voice. Even at work, his demanding workload did not drive him to this kind of stress. "Hey! I need help!"

He kept going, finally stopping to rest as he reached one of the eight skyscrapers that formed the Divine Nine. There, in the centre, was his former high school, still standing after all this time. Kansei High School, one of the two finest schools in the area. It had been nearly thirty years since he had left school, but Bunko Hashimoto was still the principal – her mind still sharper than any sword one could forge.

"...Now isn't the time to get nostalgic." Shigeru said to himself. "Noburo's supposed to be attending there next year." Just then, his eyes widened with panic. "Noburo?! Oh god – Kaiyo?! Are they..."

" **Oooh, what's making all that noise? I've never heard such a deep voice before. It's making even me shiver down my spine. I'll have to investigate."**

Shigeru, surprised, leapt up with fright. Breathing deeply, he looked to his right, and his left, but saw nothing. Then, he stared straight ahead, at the school gates of Kansei. The trees were covered with thick snow. Another figure was enamoured with the snow, and while it appeared feminine, it was clear she wasn't feminine.

She had long, shiny dark blue hair, with a fringe that covered most of her forehead. She wore a simple white kimono, but her eerie pale blue skin and deep red eyes were not of this earth. She seemed to be shrouded in a mist of snow.

"Who...or what...are you?" Shigeru asked, stunned. "You're not human, are you?"

" **...Cold as ice, aren't you?"** The snow demon said.  **"You could just your Gnosis to find out all about me. Or do you even know how to use one?"**

"How do you know about the Gnosis?" Shigeru asked.

" **How can I _not_  know about them? The only humans that can come here all have them. It's strange, actually. This world exists in the exact same place and time yours does, but it's only in the past few weeks that humans have been coming here, with these weird 'smartphones'. I don't really know anything about them. Mind if I take a closer look?"**

"Yes, I very much do mind, And I asked you a question. Who are you?" Shigeru asked, crossing his arms.

" **You're used to pushing people around, aren't you? Fine...I'm called a Yuki Jyorou. A type of Yuki-onna. You know, snow demons that appear on snowy nights. Just like this one!"** The strange girl said.  **"Thing is, though, there are more Yuki Jyorou out there. And plenty other types of Shadows. Hundreds, actually..."**

"What on earth do you mean?!" Shigeru asked.

" **There are tons of different things living in this world, born from the human psyche! Pixies, Goblins, Harpies, you name it! All of them are called Shadows. And this world is called the Theio Kosmos. It exists simultaneously alongside your world, the Akarharto Kosmos. And before you ask any other questions...let me be honest with you. I don't like you very much. So, don't think you're returning home tonight. You can die here, and no one will ever find you!"**

Shigeru gasped. This 'Yuki Jyorou' was speaking nonsense that he had never heard before, but one thing he understood quite clearly was that he was dead if he didn't fight back. He took up a fighting stance, having continued to practice karate even after his college days. However, the icy demon in front of him wasn't impressed.

" **Oh, I'm so scared! Your martial arts might save you in a bar brawl, but on a cold winter's night, when you cross my path, you'll never be able to land a hit. But my ice can chill you right to the bone. They might have to dig through the ice for hours before they can identify your corpse. Shame for your family, I guess, but...I do have a heart of ice, you know."**

As the murderous demon hurtled towards him, a shiver went down Shigeru's spine. He shut his eyes, and in his mind, he thought of the two most important people in his life.

"Kaiyo...Noburo...I'm sorry..."

However, even though his eyes were closed, he saw something fly past him – a blue sparkling butterfly. It was as if time stood still – the 'Shadow' was inching ever close to him, but another voice was speaking through his head.

**One who bears the burden of potential, heed my voice. My name is Philemon. Your existence will soon reveal its true complexity, yet this is nothing to fear. Once you truly know yourself, and why you continue to exist, life can begin anew, and you can wield your own identity as power. Answer me this question. What is your name?**

"...Shigeru. Shigeru Komatsu."

Suddenly, he heard a straight wind-like sound. Then it hit him. A blue mist was around his body, and his heart was pounding. Weirdly, the headache like sensation now felt like a pleasant, comfortable state of freedom. And he knew what word to call this newfound energy in himself.

**The time has come for you to peer into your heart. The many sides of you that you harbour, whether they are the kind, nurturing father, or the fierce, brutal guardian. All of them are you. Be your own mind, and fight! So you can shield the ones you love.**

**As he opened his eyes, everything seemed to have changed. He no longer felt fear, or dread. He saw the 'Shadow' that was ahead of him, still hell bent on freezing him to death, and smirked.**

**"Huh?! What are you so happy about? Wait – NO! I thought you didn't have one of those things -"**

**Shigeru simply gave her a smug smile, and stood tall, eyeing her down. Her red eyes widened with horror, as he called out the word she was dreading. The one that in Shigeru's head, he needed to cry out.**

**"PERSONA!"**

**Immediately, there was a gigantic flash of blue light, and a hurricane of blue wind seemed to encircle him. The Yuki Jyorou stopped in her tracks, and gasped. She hadn't been preparing for this – she trembled, and cried out in shock.**

Shigeru stared also in awe at the powerful being in front of him. It had a human body, dressed in a striking black suit, complete with a white cravat, spiked belt and armoured, pointed silver boots. Also equipped was a long flowing black cape, that had a dark blue current of energy flowing through it.

The being's head was covered with a long red scarf, exposing a pair of white eyes. A dark black helmet with large horns covered most of the head, revealing only grey skin and small tufts of white hair.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Dis Pater, and my duty is to imprison sinners within the horrors of their own underworld.**

"Let's destroy this demon! Whatever you are, you'll pay dearly for mocking my family..." Shigeru said, cracking his knuckles. "Dis Pater! Fight!"

The 'Persona' complied. It leapt up in the air, and swung out its arms, fists clenched – and giant blue energy blades appeared from beneath the sleeves. It hurled down, and drove both through the Shadow's heart – sending the cold demon to its knees.

" **This can't be happening...I...I'm going to die now, aren't I?"**

"...This is the first time I'll have ever committed a murder." Shigeru said. "But I have a home to be returning to. Getting in the way of that was your mistake."

" **Fine...it's not like there aren't others like me, anyway. The Shadows will exist here as long as humans exist in your world. Just know this...you're not the only one with your power. I've not met any of the others, but they're all planning something big! Wonder what will happen if you just leave them be..."**

Infuriated, his anger took control of him. He looked at Dis Pater, and pointed towards the snow demon. Nodding, Dis Pater sent forth a blast of dark energy, or 'Eiha', and the ice demon was struck down. She screamed in pain, and her body dissolved into darkness.

"It's over..." Shigeru said. "...Isn't it?"

All he could think about was getting home. With difficulty, he returned to Sogen Park, looking at his Gnosis all the while. Breathing a sigh of relief, he found an application that could take him back to this 'Akartharto Kosmos', as it had been described to him. In seconds, he was back in the park, surrounded by the same people was before.

"So where are you taking me tonight?" A young woman said, gazing dreamily into her boyfriend's eyes, as they walked straight past Shigeru.

"It's a surprise!" The young man said, and they laughed happily on their way out of the park. Shigeru, blinking, couldn't believe it. Had no one seem him vanish into thin air?

"I need to get home. I can't...take any more of this." Shigeru said. He made his way home, his mind still struggling to comprehend what had happened. Arriving at his large home on the south of Totsuka, he tried to act as if everything was normal. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about how close he had come to dying. And the possibility of others with the same power as his – who may wish to use it to harm others.

**|April 8th 2017|Grand Laguna Hotel|18:25 pm|**

"That's how it all began for me. Dis Pater saved me, but there was worse to time around the corner." Shigeru concluded. "I couldn't just leave things the way they were. I had to confide in someone."

"Who was that?" Masato asked, fidgeting.

"Her name is Yuko - a woman I knew in college, who entered the political world at the same time I did. A woman whose skills led her to be elected Mayor Ashikaga of Shinshuto City." Shigeru said.

"Wow..." Kohaku said. "I've never met her, but my mother really admires her. I can't believe she knows about this too!"

"Yuko and I are firm friends. Even so, I wasn't sure she'd believe such a far-fetched story. But she was patient with me. She asked me to take her to this 'Theio Kosmos'. And, I did."

"...Was that the best idea?" Kei asked, apprehensively.

"What, are you suggesting I should have involved my family?" Shigeru asked, suddenly angry again.

"Not at all. There's no way I could ever tell my parents about this world." Shintaro said.

"I never told anyone in my family what the Gnosis could actually do..." Masato said. "And I can't let either my bro or sis find out. And if my mother found out, well..." He shuddered at the thought. "We can't just blab about this world to anyone."

"What happened after you showed this Kosmos to the Mayor, Komatsu-san?" Kei asked.

"She told me, in full sincerity, that I could investigate this world fully. Soon after I discovered this world existed, Bythos emerged. And their words...I knew right away that they were cognizant of this world as well. Before long, the number of Shadows here sky-rocketed." Shigeru said. "The Mayor wants Bythos destroyed. But she has no Persona to face them with."

"So you're tasked with facing Bythos all on your own?" Shintaro asked. "That's a lot of pressure."

"Obviously." Shigeru said, raising an eyebrow in derision. "Fortunately, five others came forward with a Gnosis of their own, all mailed to them in similar circumstances. Each of them had been preprogrammed to tell them to contact me. It took some convincing for a few members, but I'm always grateful for their support. So far, all we've been able to do is do reconnaissance across the city, and practice fighting Shadows."

"I...I wasn't sure what to think when that package arrived at my student accommodation." Novalie said. "But I had a feeling that with this Gnosis, I'd have the chance to protect this city from darkness. Then I awoke to Saga...my Persona. So strong, so powerful..."

"Novalie was the first out of the five to awaken to her Persona. Hiroyuki followed shortly after her." Shigeru continued. "Our research into the Theio Kosmos continued. Unfortunately, we failed to save the Chief of Police. We were waylaid by Shadows that night...and we still don't know how they performed the killing."

"We first picked up your readings on Monday." Novalie said. "Our Gnosis devices have an app that lets us detect activity in each area of the city. We were able to detect a lot of disturbances in Bella Donna...and upon analysing the residual data, we gained a rough idea of what your Personas looked like. Ogma, Airmid...and Ostara."

"...You guys have been studying us all this time, without even knowing it?" Kohaku asked. "That's scary..."

"I'm sorry, Kohaku." Novalie said, sadly. "We wanted to make sure which side you were on. We were trying to locate you the next again day, but something interfered with our search. By the time we discovered you had been to Yorokobi, it was too late. The battle was over, and you had returned home."

"Then came the day of Yoshinaga's awakening. Your third foray into the Theio Kosmos, I believe." Shigeru said. "We were able to track your movements up until a point. Then, when a fourth Gnosis appeared, all our data became scrambled, and we weren't able to pin point your location. No doubt this EX-NIHILO was responsible."

"And today you finally reached us." Shintaro said.

"I could tell you were on the verge of dealing the Squad a second defeat. Had you done so, you would most likely have left the Kosmos and returned home, and we'd still be trying to reach you." Shigeru said. "It wasn't until I saw Teruya-san in the Sodai Box Office putting away her Gnosis that I knew she was one of the people we were searching for."

"...Oh, you saw it?" Kohaku said. "Oh my god - I was trying so hard to hide it!"

"Carelessness is something you need to avoid." Shigeru said. "However...throughout my work as a politician, I've had the pleasure of meeting Tomokazu and Naoko many times. It's a pleasure to finally meet their beloved daughter."

"Those are Kohaku-chan's parents, right?" Masato asked.

"Yes, that's right. Do they talk about me that way?" Kohaku asked, stunned.

"Of course they do." Shigeru said, finally showing a smile, albeit a small one. "It must be difficult, not having them around as much. I can sympathise. Now that we've finally become acquainted, I'd like to extend an invitation to join our group."

"Huh? Become part of the Persona & Shadow Secret Investigation Bureau?" Masato asked. "...And how did I remember the full name on the first try?"

"Even I couldn't remember the full name until you said it." Shintaro said.

"Hmm." Kohaku began. "If we were to join...what would you expect of us?"

"I obviously can't ask you to sacrifice your education. That's out of the question." Shigeru said. "For most of this city's redevelopment, I've been advancing the field of education here. Kansei and Chieki are the schools my superiors are expecting the most from. All I ask is for you to continue what you've been doing so far."

"You mean, coming here after school, fighting Shadows?" Shintaro asked.

"That's correct. Except from now on, you report to me – or if I'm unavailable, any other of the 'senior' members." Shigeru said.

"I'm only 22 years old, Mr. Komatsu." Novalie said, shaking her head.

"I'm most curious about Kei's ability. The 'Wild Card'." Shigeru said. "I've never seen anyone with the potential to summon more than one Persona. You just may become our secret weapon..."

"I'm try my best to live up to your expectations, Komatsu-san." Kei said.

"Don't strain yourself. You're still young - nd the last thing I want to happen is for either of your lives to be ruined by this." Shigeru said. "If I wasn't desperate for other allies, I'd never have agreed for students like yourself to take part..."

"But Mr. Komatsu, they've done really well up until now. I think we can trust them." Novalie said.

"It's not that I don't trust them." Shigeru said. "...People like them shouldn't have to raise weapons and fight. Nor should you, Novalie. You're supposed to be completing your degree at Shinshuto City College."

"That's still underway. But we're not lambs to the slaughter." Novalie said.

"...I feel I've lost the intimidation factor." Shigeru said, with a genuine laughter. Shintaro smiled – this man was tough, but he was warm inside. Working alongside him, Novalie, and Hiroyuki would be for their benefit.

"Then that settles it. We're officially part of the...um...is there a shorthand for this group?" Masato asked.

"It's a bit of an unwieldy name, yes." Novalie said. "To be honest, the current name is something of a placeholder. We didn't get around to establishing a formal name."

"Perhaps, as part of your first group meeting, you'd like to contribute. We'll still be referred to as the Bureau within the government, but I'll handle that side of things." Shigeru said. "What do you think?"

"Um..." Masato said, a little flustered.

"The word 'Gnosis' means 'knowledge', right?" Shintaro said. "It's where 'Gnostic' originates from. I'm something of an expert at etymology."

"And one on modesty, it seems." Kei said, smirking. Shintaro frowned, while Masato giggled.

"I'm useless at coming up with names. It's why all of my flute music has names like 'Song 1', 'Melody B', 'Really Nice Waltz'." Kohaku said.

"I'm not sure 'Really Nice Waltz' is going to strike fear in the hearts of...well, anyone." Shigeru said, completely deadpan. "Kakusa-san. Any ideas?"

"Yes, I've got one. The  **Knowledge Seekers**." Kei said.

"...Knowledge Seekers?" Novalie said. "Oh, I see. Constantly in the pursuit of knowledge of this world. It's not bad, actually. Any objections?"

"Better than anything I had." Masato said.

"It works for me!" Shintaro said. "How about you two?"

"Most of our lives have involved seeking knowledge of some kind." Kohaku said. "To learn more about this bizarre alternate world that exists parallel to our own, and uncover its mysteries - that should be our goal."

"Yes. What's most important, of course, is to make sure no one can abuse that knowledge." Kei said. "I don't want those of evil ambitions to make sure of this world for their own ends. If they do, then I'll cut every last one of them down!"

"Wow..." Masato said. "That sounded pretty badass right now. I'm glad I'm on your side."

"Very well. Knowlege Seekers it shall be." Shigeru said. "As for this hotel - obviously, I'm not quite rich enough to own this building, or even rent out the suite indefinitely. But, in this world of the Theio Kosmos, it was mine for the taking. We're still figuring out the basics, but..."

"The world here responds to its inhabitants desires." Novalie said. "Thus, we could potentially transform rooms, or maybe even entire floors of this hotel into more specific features."

"This core appeared in my hand the day we first went inside." Shigeru said. He held out a dark purple orb in his hand, that seemed to be bathed in deep pink energy. "...I have no idea what it is called. But the one who possesses this core can influence the building, and reshape it in the Theio Kosmos. Not only that, they may be able to affect the Akartharto version of the same building."

"Really?!" Kohaku said. "These orbs let you do that?"

"The only proof for that theory – so far – is that one evening, when Shigeru entrusted me with the orb, I was walking into a room on this floor – only to have wound up in the actual hotel room. Thankfully, the guests were sleeping, and didn't see me..." Novalie said, shuddering. "But...let's just say sleepwear was invented for a good reason."

_That sounds scarier than Hisaya's knives._

"Since these don't have a name – the Gnosis hasn't offered one, at least – I'm going to propose a name for these now." Shigeru said. "We'll call these ' **Cognition Cores** '."

"Ah, so like the cogs of a machine and the human congition." Shintaro said, smirking.

"Are you trying to be clever with your worldplay?" Shigeru said, raising an eyebrow at him again.

"Um...not really. I'll make a note of these cores." Shintaro said. "Strange, we never saw any cores in any of the other places we've been to up until now."

"...Did we actually try to go inside the clock tower at Yorokobi, though?" Kohaku asked. "Perhaps we could try to take over that building for ourselves."

"What are we going to do with a clock tower, though?" Masato asked, confused. "Can't we do something cooler? Like the baseball stadium?"

"I...think we shouldn't bite off more than we can chew." Novalie said, laughing nervously.

"But man, it's sweet having a hotel suite for a base!" Masato said. "It could be a lot worse. We could be holed up in a basement in god knows where, having to forage for the bare essentials."

"Why a basement?" Kohaku asked.

"I dunno." Masato said.

"Komatsu-san, did you want to ask us anything else?" Shintaro asked.

"Not at the moment." Shigeru said. "You may return home. I'll send you the data for this building, so you can return here in future."

"One more thing, before we go!" Kohaku said, suddenly remembering what she had discussed at school with the others. "There are six members in your team, right? Is Keiya Tsukino one of you?"

"What?" Novalie asked, confused. "I've heard the name, but he's definitely not part of our group. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." Kohaku said. "Our friend Akari saw him in Midori Park, performing a card trick. He was somehow able to put an entire suit of cards into her pocket without her even seeing him."

"And she saw him using a phone that looked just like my Gnosis." Kei said. "Akari was with us when I purchased my own, so she saw it at the time. As far as she's concerned, it's just a regular smartphone that's started to become popular."

"I see. Then..." Shigeru said, grimly. "It appears we finally know the identity of an Aeon Administrator."

The group looked at each other, ill at ease. Keiya, the mysterious card magician, was an enemy. But what could he possibly gain from joining a group like Bythos? Was he capable of true magic, not just tricks?

"One of the Shadows we defeated at Chieki Academy said something about 'the moon guy'. And also, a 'video lady', but I've no idea who that would be." Kei said.

_Wait, weren't we talking about videos after school?_

"Mr. Komatsu, what are your thoughts?" Novalie asked, nervous.

"This is enough intel to work with." Shigeru said. "You can go home for now. I'll be able to contact you via your Gnosis devices from here on out – if I find out anything more about Keiya or this 'video lady', I'll keep you informed."

"Likewise, Komatsu-san." Kei said. "And thank you very much for your hospitality."

"More than happy to help! I hope we meet again soon!" Novalie said. "It must have been scary, fighting on your own, but I swear I'll do my best to help you out. All of us will."

With that, the group transported back to Sogen Park, leaving Novalie and Shigeru in the suite by themselves.

"What do you think of them, Novalie?" Shigeru asked.

"Well, the red-haired boy certainly seemed enamoured with the biscuits I made -"

"Not that!" Shigeru snapped. "Do you think they're trustworthy?"

"Oh...sorry." Novalie said, looking away from him. "It's early days, but they all had such earnest looks in their eyes. I think they'll be of great help to us."

"You're quite the optimistic one. But..." Shigeru said. "Now we have a name for one of their members. At least, one that actually could post a threat."

"True..." Novalie said. "The Aeon Administrators, supposedly their members who have genuine Personas. The time may come when we fight them. And their leader may even finally show herself. I can only hope we prevail against them..."

"You're not getting scared now, are you?" Shigeru said. "We were chosen for a reason. Perhaps by this 'Philemon', or another force. We cannot falter."

"I know." Novalie said. "I want the same thing as you, Mr. Komatsu. For this city to be at peace. Especially for people as young as our new guests."

"Good. Then we'll begin our research into Keiya Tsukino immediately." Shigeru said, getting up from his chair. "You and Sagá may be on the frontlines soon enough."

"My Persona is more than ready for him!" Novalie said, confidently.

"I hope you're right." Shigeru said, looking out of the window. "...They're out there, in this city. If in the Akarharto Kosmos, they're acting as if everyone is completely normal. If in this Kosmos, they're planning their next move, unaware that we're plotting against them. Mark my words, Novalie. I will crush Bythos into the dust!"

The two of them left the hotel, hoping to rest after a long day. Yet what battles lay ahead?

**|Sogen Park|**

Hiroyuki Kita arrived, and saw the signs of a fierce battle. He reached the fountain, and saw a spear that had fallen into the water. Lying besides the fountain were two young men, one with a shaved head covered with tattoos, the other laying face down, his clothes soaking wet.

"...You two fought like hell, huh?" Hiroyuki said, as he lifted the two men up. While heavy, he was able to carry them across his shoulders. "Dumb kids. With all your strength, you should have put it towards something worth fighting for. This country, your families, your friends...not just your own sake. Selfish as can be, aren't you?"

Just as he was about to warp to the Shinshuto North Police Station, he noticed something. Only two members of the Claret Squad, Fumihiro and Ryosei, were here.

"You've got to be kidding me! Where the heck's the girl? Ueda! Are you nearby?"

Hiroyuki, disturbed, looked all over the park, on the look out for Hisaya – as well as the Shadows. Unfortunately, however, it seemed as if Hisaya had escaped. Perhaps she was calling for backup, or she had fled to save her own skin. It wouldn't surprise Hiroyuki.

"Cowardly girl! Throwing your friends to the lions?! Shameful." Hiroyuki said. "We'll get you soon enough. See how well you do without your squad!"

With that, Hiroyuki disappeared with his two new captives. However, not far from the park, someone was watching the scene from the top of a skyscraper – a relatively small tower called the Regency Pillar, in which several offices and a high-end restaurant were here.

"...He's finally gone."

Hisaya Ueda breathed a huge sigh of relief. She had been the first to awaken after her defeat, but she had a gut feeling she would be in trouble if she hang around. She ran as far as her legs could carry her, and forced her away into the building.

"Fumihiro...Ryosei...I'm so sorry!"

She shed a tear, and stared at the now-empty Sogen Park. Many more tears came, and she buried her head in her hands. There hadn't been any time to save her friends, and now she might never see them again.

"Is that all you can do? Apologise and cry?"

Hisaya gasped, heart pounding. She turned around, and saw one man she had been dreading to see. A tall man with black hair, tied in a long ponytail, and clad in a blue cape and black suit.

"K-Keiya!" Hisaya said, shuddering.

"You should have realised that failure two times in a row wasn't going to earn you any favours. Your squad wasn't known for its success in the first place, after all." Keiya Tsukino said, holding out his arms dramatically. "Shall I remind you of the dismal reports we've collected over the past four weeks? They don't make for happy reading!"

"...I know we messed up, Tsukino-san." Hisaya said. "I...I'll make sure we get stronger -"

"How can you, though?" Keiya said. "There's only so far you can go with an artificial Persona. Yes, we can find the ones most compatible to your own psyche, but unless you can somehow develop your own innate Persona, you'll never be able to compete on our level. In time, those children who defeated you will dwarf you in both numbers and strength."

"Don't say that!" Hisaya said, sadly. "We can get Fumihiro and Ryosei out of jail, I know we can!"

"And what, pray tell, would we gain from doing so?" Keiya asked. "The situation is changing. Our enemies have started to show their true face. We gave you the means to escape your home life – which you did rather gruesomely, might I add. What have you done to repay us?"

"I...well..." Hisaya said, with a lump in her throat. She was full of shame, and fear. Her only two friends had been captured, and were not likely to be released any time soon. And Keiya, the boss of her squad, was denigrating her rather severely. None of the other Aeon Administrators were likely to fight her corner.

"Perhaps we'd get more use out of you if we made use of Shadow Compression." Keiya said.

Hisaya looked up at him, alarmed. "NO! You...can't be serious! I don't want to – I won't end up like Nox! I want to be human..."

Keiya smiled evilly, and let out a dark laugh.

"Ha! I knew you'd react that way. A fate worse than death, most would agree."

Hisaya bit her lip, but she was relieved. With any luck, she could avoid being forcibly transformed into an abomination against nature.

"Then let me give you an order. Rescue your comrades...and with them, destroy Kei Kakusa and her allies." Keiya threw a red Gnosis at her, and she grabbed it. "Come to headquarters with me, immediately. We'll choose a new Persona, one that will prove far more vicious then either Moh Shuvuu or Mermaid ever were. After that, the rest is all down to you. Bring honour to the Claret Squad at last, Hisaya Ueda."

Hisaya nodded, and with Keiya's Gnosis, they were spirited away to parts unknown. The wind blew through the park, and it began a tranquil place once more.

Tranquillity, however, would not be the order of the coming days.


	13. Touched Heartstrings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been another little while, I know! And it's another of the non-battle chapters where we see the characters doing their own thing. But the next two chapters will be rather intense. Please read, review, favourite, whatever you want to do, and thanks for reading!
> 
> Minor note: Celestine was originally going to be Half-Japanese, but upon reflection I made her 100% French. Not wanting to waste her original surname, I gave that to Yuko Ashikaga, the Mayor of Shinshuto.

**|Sunday 9th April|Nakahara Household|9:12 am|**

Finally, it was a Sunday, and now the group could have a day of rest. Shintaro yawned as he got out of bed and got dressed. As usual, however, he got distracted from his breakfast by the book he was reading – this being one of the Leanne Rouge series. When he saw the photograph of the sophisticated French novelist on one of the back pages, he blushed.

_Next week, Celestine Courtois is having a book signing in Hiyashi! I can't wait!_

With everything going on in the Theio Kosmos, he had completely forgotten about the signing. Today, after working on his homework, he'd go to his favourite cafe to finish re-reading the latest book in the series, the copy he intended to have Celestine sign with her signature pen. He went downstairs, and found his mother preparing breakfast.

"Good morning, Shintaro-kun!" Eriko said to her son cheerily. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yes, mum. I'm feeling much better now." Shintaro said, dressed in his blue sweater and jeans. It was a cool morning, hence him bringing out the thicker clothes. The two of them sat down to have breakfast, as Takuya was meeting an old friend for breakfast in Tarumi.

"That's good to hear, especially since you seemed so tired last night..." Eriko said. "And you seem really cautious, every time I see you. You do know you can tell me and your father absolutely anything, right?"

_Mother, if I told you I was fighting a crazy psycho who killed her own father, and she was only a grunt of a larger group, how would you react? I can't just tell her about the Gnosis. Komatsu-san told us never to reveal this to anyone else. Not even my mother._

"I know, you don't need to worry so much. I'm just concerned about Bythos. They've been quiet since what happened in Hanashima." Shintaro said.

"True, and what's even more strange is the awfully large increase in support of Bythos in Mizuho." Eriko said. "I've been reading about it. Strange, isn't it? Why would a nurse killing the Chief of Police do that?"

"I wish I knew..." Shintaro said. "But they won't get to keep doing as they please. The city council won't allow that. Ashikaga-san will take care of things."

"You seem rather sure of that..." Eriko said. She smiled faintly, however. "But I think you're right. She's a strong woman, after all. And I hear she has strong allies in the government. Look at this in the morning paper!"

Shintaro looked at the paper, and saw an article written about a speech Yuko Ashikaga and made. Pictured was a tall, pale woman with raven black hair, with bangs framing her face. She seemed rather gaunt, but had a steely air about her. Those fierce eyes showed to Shintaro one thing - she wasn't about to let Bythos ruin her city.

_It must be so frustrating, though. She has no means to fight the Shadows. All she can do is rely on Komatsu-san and all of us. Maybe soon enough, we'll get to meet her face to face. I hope we can restore her peace of mind, and fast._

With breakfast out of the way, Shintaro went outside, enjoying the light breeze. He walked through his neighbourhood, waving at the young kids who were playing around in their back guard. In a week's time he would be face to face with the beautiful and refined Celestine, and learn more about how she managed to pen such a surreal series.

_I wonder if she'll ever allow a movie based on her book. Maybe a TV series. I'd love to see either. But could any of those beat the way I capture the story in my mind? I'm sure no matter how good it was, Celestine's vision could never truly be bested by any other medium._

**|Teruya Household|9:21 am|**

Kohaku's home was a little larger than Shintaro's. Her room was filled with sheet music and many CD's and records, as well as several plush toys she had when she was a little girl. While she no longer played with most of them, she loved having them around. She also had photographs of her with her family on her dressing table, as well as one with Shintaro she took last year.

_Taro-kun, I'm so glad I'm a Persona user alongside you. I get to look after you even when we're fighting scum like that bastard Ryosei. And my parents - I can use my power to protect them for harm too, can't I? I must learn more about Airmid. I can't let Bythos target my parents._

Agitated by the thought, she looked at her vast collection of CDs, and saw Aika Makino's first album. Smiling, she thought back to when she first heard it.

_Aika was part of Dream Tears back when she was in high school, wasn't she? She was easily the best girl in that trio. And then they replaced her with some dumb girl who could barely sing. Thank god they broke up. Aika has way more talent than all of them combined. I can't wait to see her, but who do I want to come with me? Shintaro, maybe? I don't really know any other guys in school well enough to ask out. I suppose I could just go with Akari, maybe Kei. Or I could try speaking to Natsumi. I mean, if Shintaro can stand being near Masato now...I can face her._

Shrugging, she put on her orange shirt and brown skirt, and went downstairs. There, to her delight, were her parents, having breakfast.

"Morning!" Kohaku said, happily greeting her parents.

"Good morning to you too, dear!" Kohaku's mother – Naoko – said. The family were having freshly made omelettes for breakfast, light and fluffy as usual. It wasn't quite Kohaku's favourite, that being okonomiyaki, but this was a close second.

"You're looking bright this morning." Tomokazu, Kohaku's father, said. "I'm sorry, we've barely seen you since school started..."

"No, it's okay." Kohaku said. "I understand your work is important. And I'm almost 17 now. It won't be long until I'm an adult myself."

"Even so, I hate leaving you here on your own so much..." Naoko said. "So, what have you been up to all week?"

And so Kohaku told them what she felt she could safely reveal. Namely, that she and Shintaro had managed to end up in the same class again. And likewise, Akari was with them too. Not only that, they had a girl from Yokohama in the class- Kei. Then, she finished with how she had purchased two tickets to see Aika Makino live.

"Oh, she's good. I need to thank you again for lending me her album again, my dear." Tomokazu said.

"Just two tickets?" Naoko asked. "Are you and Shintaro going together?"

"I don't know yet." Kohaku said. "I just felt like going with someone. And there were only two tickets left, so I figured I should make it a social event."

"Ah, Kohaku..." Tomokazu said. "As long as you have a good time, I don't mind who you take."

"Thanks, dad." Kohaku said.  _I don't really want to go on my own, and there were only two tickets left. Who should I ask, though? Tough choice._

"Didn't something happen with the old band she used to be in?" Naoko asked, curious. "It turned out their manager was trying to get a little too close to them behind the scenes."

"I don't think Kohaku needs to hear the details, dear." Tomokazu said, shuddering.

"Oh, I read all about him. Total bastard. Aika-chan deserved better." Kohaku said, clenching her fists at the thought. "But her new album is going to be even better than the last one, I can feel it!"

"You're quite a fan, I see." Tomokazu said, giving an amused smirk to his wife. Naoko chuckled fondly, as she poured her daughter a cup of hot coffee. "So, what are we doing today?"

"I'm not sure. Shintaro's going to a book signing, Akari's working at that pet shop again, and I'm not sure what Kei's doing." Kohaku said.  _I shouldn't bring up Masato just yet..._

"In that case, why don't we go out for a walk around Tarumi, and see a movie?" Naoko asked. "And we can have a meal there later on."

"Sure! That sounds great!" Kohaku said, happily. The family finished their breakfast, and left for a family outing to Tarumi. It had been a long time since she had been able to enjoy the day with her parents. They had been a hard working couple, yet they had no idea how hard their daughter would be working to fight Shadows soon enough.

**|Komatsu Household|13:10 pm|**

Located on the edge of Totsuka was a large, three-bedroom house, grand in size, and with a somewhat Western feel in terms of architecture. With bay windows on either side of the front door, it had an impressive garden surrounding it, and even a conservatory.

This was the home of Shigeru Komatsu, who had lived here since just before his marriage. Today, he and his wife Kaiyo were about to watch their son Noburo audition for the role of Shin, a tortured young boy, in a popular, yet tragic play called  _Death By Moonlight_  that had been written in Shinshuto. With all the prep Noburo had been making, Shigeru could probably write the entire script from memory.

"Mom, are you ready?" Noburo called upstairs. He was dressed in his finest white shirt and black tie, as well as the shiny pair of shoes he had received for Christmas. Shigeru, also smartly dressed, couldn't help but feel proud – his son would make a fine gentleman someday. Perhaps he was already there, judging from how often Teruko embraced him on their dates.

"Yes, Noburo-kun!" A woman replied. She came downstairs, with her short brown hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a checked white and black dressed, and a white jacket to match. "I'm so glad you were able to make it, darling." The woman kissed her husband, who smiled warmly at her.

"I had to. I hate it when I end up missing Noburo's auditions..." Shigeru said. "But not today. I know how hard you've been working towards this role. I want to see you nail this."

"Don't worry, dad, I've got this in the bag. I've read this play at least fifty-seven times." Noburo said, smiling. "I even wrote an essay about how much I related to Shin's character arc, remember?"

"Yes, I read it." Shigeru said, amused. "Let's get going. I've booked us a table afterwards."

"Awesome!" Noburo said. Just then, his phone started to ring. "Oh...one sec. It'll be Teruko, wishing me luck!" He walked outside, heading to the silver car, and began what would most likely be a long conversation between high school lovers.

"Kaiyo..." Shigeru said. "He's growing up, isn't he?"

"Yes. He's so mature for his age. And when he sees something he wants, he goes for it whole-heartedly." Kaiyo said. "I'm sure he must get it from you."

"Me?" Shigeru said.

"Of course. You're the best father he could have." Kaiyo said, happily, and she pulled him into a tight embrace. "I never thought I could find happiness again...after what happened with...him."

"That was an aeon ago, my dear..." Shigeru said. "I'll never let you down. That's a promise."

Kaiyo smiled, tearing up a little. "I know you won't. I'll always be grateful for having you in my life. And I know for sure that Noburo feels the same way."

The two of them waited for Noburo to finish his phone call with Teruko, and walked outside. Shigeru drove them to their destination, and as Noburo and his mother talked about the play in minute detail, Shigeru dwelled on the events of last night.

_So now we have high school students as Persona users. It seems like what you'd expect from a video game, or an anime. But this is reality. And It's not fair. All I want is for children like Noburo to be at peace, away from fighting monsters like Shadows. But I have no choice. I must carry on my work. I must protect Kaiyo and Noburo at all costs - they are my reason for living._

They continued on their way, reaching the audition hall where Noburo planned to wow the casting director. As Shigeru drove the family car, he continued to lament his current situation. Defeating Bythos still seemed far off, but perhaps he was a little closer now.

**|Mizuho - Asami's House|12:00 pm|**

Natsumi, as she walked to her friend's house, was wondering about the events of the past week. She had ended up seeing two familiar faces from her past – and it brought back a lot of bad memories. The cruel things she had ended up doing in middle school would haunt her forever. She and Masato had ended up ruining precious friendships, and all to be 'cool'. Never again would she do such a thing.

Yet, after yesterday, she noticed Masato seemed oddly happy. Why, she didn't know. Sure, he did babble on about Dorothy a lot, but this was different. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his mind. Did it have something to do with that weird phone she had heard him talk about? She hadn't seen anyone else use one, she thought.

_Why won't Masato tell me? He keeps saying it's a 'surprise', but won't say anymore. Maybe I should try asking Hideki if he knows anything._

"Hey Natsu! Oh, your best dress again! It's so cute!"

Asami had opened the door in anticipation, and smiled at her friend. Natsumi was wearing one of her favourite outfits, her pink floral dress with matching boots. Much of her wardrobe seemed to be various shades of pink and red, which her brothers had teased her about before. Asami, on the other hand, was wearing a sparky green top and denim shorts, preferring a slightly more tomboyish look.

"Thanks!" Natsumi said. "It's the one I made for myself last November!"

"Oh yeah, you were in the club room after school all month trying to finish it. You gonna make me one too?" Asami asked.

"I dunno. This one took a long time to get right. I'm good at designing clothes...I just wish I could make them easier." Natsumi said.

"Ah, you're too hard on yourself. Make me a green one to match and I'll be happy." Asami said. "C'mon, let's get inside. My parents are out shopping!"

The girls ran upstairs to her room. It was covered in mostly pink furnishings, but there her expensive camera and lighting system was set up. With the revenue she had earned during her online career, she had been able to afford some new equipment to improve the professionalism of her videos, to some good results. After all, 1080p and 60fps seemed to draw in the crowds.

"Wow!" Natsumi said, sitting down on the purple sofa by the back wall, and gazing at the white cushions. "Your studio is awesome!"

"I know, right?" Asami said. "Some mean people are saying I post too much. That there's a lot of old videos they'll never get through. But I don't want to keep my thoughts to myself. I've got to get them out there."

"You should just do what makes you happy. Screw what others think." Natsumi said. "...I wish I'd been more like you when I was in middle school. Me and Masato might still be friends with Kohaku and Shintaro..."

"...I know." Asami said. "You've seen the error of your ways. If you tried to pass off what you and your brother did as 'harmless teasing', or something similar, then that would make you..."

"No, I'd never say that." Natsumi said. "I'm not the stupid girl I was back then. I have to look forward. I can't keep thinking back on the friends I've lost..."

"Yeah, good point. C'mon, let's get going to Ginumi!" Asami said, happily. "Let's get away from all this sad talk."

Just as Asami was getting her stuff together, Natsumi noticed something she hadn't seen before. A framed photo on Asami's desk, next to her neon green laptop. It was of what appeared to be a younger Asami, with longer and straighter hair, and she was huddled together with three other girls Natsumi didn't recognise.

"Hey, who are those -"

Before she could finish, Asami grabbed the photo and span it around, hiding it.

"It's nothing. Just an old photo from years ago." Asami said, sharply. "Come on, what are we waiting for? Let's go shopping!"

**|Midori Park|13:09 pm|**

For Masato, the day had been rather uneventful so far. He had written another long message to his beloved Dorothy, which had reached two pages according to his word processing software. Not that he dared reveal a single word about the mess with Shadows and Personas, but he did tell her about him and Shintaro.

She had already been aware of his past as a bully, and had chosen to keep an open mind about him. After all, she said, why should the past haunt you forever? In her eyes, everyone deserved a second chance. Hopefully, she would be happy to hear that he had made up with his former friend, even if it was still a little awkward between them.

Even so, he knew had to keep up his fitness, and so he went for a morning run around Midori Park, weaving in and out of the way of trees and other visitors. However, after the 12th lap, he took a break and sat at the bench.

"Phew..." Masato said. "I wonder what the others are doing?"

Sweating, he adjusted his wristbands – a pair of red brand ones – and stretched his arms. He scanned the park, in case he saw anyone else he knew, but alas no one seemed particularly familiar to him. Until he laid eyes on a man in a black suit.

"...That creep!"

The tall man was by the pond, gazing at the rippling water. His back was turned, but from the ponytail, it was clear to Masato who exactly this person was. Keiya Tsukino, the card magician. And, as it turned out, was most likely part of Bythos. The same group that apparently had tried to kill him with that monstrous EX-NIHILO.

_I'll take you on right here, right now!_

Just as he got up from the bench, preparing to charge at Keiya, he was stopped by someone tightly grabbing his arm.

"Whoa, what the hell!"

"Don't even think about it, kid!"

Masato recognised that voice. He turned around, and saw a man who previously had worn a full military uniform. Now, however, he was in a plain red t-shirt and jeans. Colonel Hiroyuki Kita, of the JSDF, had halted the baseball-loving kid from making a huge mistake.

"What – but – Kita-san, that guy, he's..." Masato said, desperately trying to get his point across.

"Shigeru and Novalie have already told us about his Gnosis." Hiroyuki said, sternly. "I came here to follow him in secret. I'm just glad I was here to stop you."

"...Can't we do something about him?" Masato asked. "If we just let him go, then who knows what he'll do next? They already tried to kill me once before, and I don't even know why!"

"I understand what you're saying." Hiroyuki said. "Even so, I can't just let you rush into things and make matters worse. I need to stop the good men under my command from making bad decisions. Trying to challenge Tsukino now won't accomplish anything. Or worse, he'll call the police on you."

"Damn..." Masato said, looking down at his feet. "I didn't even think of that."

"You want to defend Shinshuto from Bythos, don't you?" Hiroyuki asked. "Then you have to use your head a little. Picking a fight with him here in public is only going to get you in trouble. Making him aware of us, and that we know he's one of them, will hinder us more than help us."

Masato, silent, gazed back at the pond. Keiya was wandering away, not even noticing the two of them further back. Although it hurt to admit it, Hiroyuki was right. He could have ruined everything by trying to be a hero.

"...I'm really sorry, Kita-san."

Hiroyuki, while calm, still frowned at the boy, and crossed his arms.

"This better not happen again. Leave the fighting to the Theio Kosmos. We can't keep running around trying to keep you out of trouble."

_Damn, can he not say 'it's okay' and smile? I mean, Shigeru probably would be even madder, but I'm sure Novalie would be a bit sweeter about it. But he's right. I'll wait until we meet Keiya in the Theio Kosmos. Then I'll get a chance to show that card freak a thing or two._

"...I won't tell Shigeru about this, of course." Hiroyuki said. "Trust me, you don't want to tick him off."

"Got it, sir." Masato said. Hiroyuki didn't seem quite as happy as he did yesterday, but Masato wasn't particularly keen on finding out why. "I'll leave Keiya alone. I promise."

"Good." Hiroyuki said. "So far, he hasn't done anything openly suspicious. But I was able to confirm that he does indeed possess a Gnosis. And it's definitely not one of the red ones the Claret Squad and the other soldiers use, either. He's far above their league. It's quite likely he answers directly to Nisa Liat."

"Yeah, probably." Masato said, pondering what sort of Persona Keiya could be using. "...I'll be heading home now."

"Then be safe, Yoshinaga." Hiroyuki said. Quickly, Masato walked away from the park, eager to get away from the Colonel. Could he really have been stupid enough to expose himself as a Persona user to Keiya? He could have risked the safety of his friends and family.

_No more mistakes. I need to listen to Hiroyuki and the others. After all, they're the ones in charge._

**|Mizuho - Reverie|14:16 pm|**

The Reverie was a popular cafe in Mizuho, located quite close to Shinshuto City College. Known for a black and dark red colour scheme, it prided itself on a sophisticated atmosphere that still managed to be inviting. Shintaro was something of a regular here, and as soon as he walked in, the barista greeted him warmly.

"Good afternoon, Shintaro-san!" The barista said. She was Suzume, a student at the college.

"Hi Suzume-san! The usual, please. And a chocolate muffin!" Shintaro said. She smiled, and prepared the coffee expertly. He took his coffee and his muffin, and sat by the window, where he had a view of the city around him. So many people coming and going. Something disturbed him, however. Quite a few people had oddly glazed looks in their eyes. Perhaps it had something to do with what his mother mentioned before.

_Bythos are up to something with Mizuho, aren't they? That's pretty scary..._

Trying to ignore it, he started reading the latest book in the  _Leanne Rouge_  series,  _Hail to the Blue Veil Society_. Young Leanne were uncovering the dark secrets of the titular society, known only for their elegant blue scarves they left at the site of their crimes. He had already read through this once before, but on his second read, he wanted to make sure he kept all the details fresh in his mind.

It had been after nearly an hour, and several refills later, when someone else suddenly sat at the chair in front of him. Startled, he lowered his book – and gasped. There, smiling, was the charming Novalie Vinters, who was one of Shigeru's aides.

"Hi Shintaro-san!" Novalie said. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Ha, well I'm here all the time. It's a great place to read." Shintaro said, showing his book to the Norwegian lady. She smiled at the cover, and sipped her own tea. "What brings you here?"

"I was at the college library writing one of my papers for a module I'm taking. It's all finished now, so I thought I'd come here for a refreshment. Then I saw you, and..." Novalie said. "After everything that's been happening, I was a little worried about you. Especially with Shigeru being, well...Shigeru."

"He's a bit scary, yeah..." Shintaro said. "His Persona took out the Claret Squad as if they were made of paper! I wonder if we'll ever get that powerful..."

"In time, I'm sure you'll be capable of similar powers. The same goes for Bythos, however." Novalie said. "Shigeru is a good man, though. He doesn't talk too much about his personal life, but from what I've heard, he's a complete sweetheart when it comes to his wife. And he's a good father, too."

"He could be a bit friendlier, though. Like you." Shintaro said.

"It is rather stressful, keeping on top of this as well as his day job." Novalie said. "I'm a student, so it's not as demanding for me, but..."

"It's okay. Me and the others know we can trust him, and that's all that matters right now." Shintaro said. "Novalie, have you noticed something...strange about the people of Mizuho?"

"Some of the people were acting strange in college today, actually." Novalie said, shuddering. "People who normally didn't discuss politics were badmouthing the government and praising Bythos like wildfire. And they look almost dazed."

"...Do you guys know what's wrong with them?" Shintaro said.

"Other than it involves Bythos, no..." Novalie said. "But I intend to get to the bottom of this. If someone wants to support Bythos with all their heart, fine. But if Bythos are swaying their hearts through force, that's not acceptable."

"I agree." Shintaro said. "For false feelings are no feelings at all."

"That's rather poetic. But I understand. If you all will join us in the Theio Kosmos tomorrow after school, then we'll begin exploring Mizuho there. We should uncover something."

"I'll be there, then." Shintaro said, smiling. "So, what books are you reading?"

"Is that your best pickup line?" Novalie said, laughing. Embarrassed, Shintaro's face went red, and he looked away. "I'm only joking, Shintaro, don't look so nervous. I'm not sure if my library compares to yours, but I do like a lot of Nordic Noir titles..."

The conversation continued as normal, with Shintaro discovering some new titles to read. Novalie, despite having an ice-based Persona, seemed to have a warm heart. Yet the citizens in Mizuho were in danger of losing their minds to Bythos. Could the Knowledge Seekers turn the tide? Tomorrow, Shintaro was determined to find the way.

**|Tarumi – Oracle Cinema|13:45 pm|**

After two hours of a rather insane French movie – subtitled rather awkwardly – the Teruya family walked outside of the movie theatre, equally stunned.

"Wow. That was the most creative use of expletives I've ever heard outside of work." Tomokazu said.

"I'll say. What a complete waste of talent, though." Kohaku said, in what her parents had dubbed her 'Miss Evil Film Critic' mode. "A score lacking cohesion, extremely inept direction, lackluster special effects, and acting more wooden than my old treehouse."

"That's so  _mean_ , Kohaku!" Naoko said, laughing.

"It was an experience, anyway." Tomkazu said. "Perhaps they should have asked your friend Aika to write the songs for that movie."

"I...don't think her style really fits scene involving purple giraffes and haunted pink torpedoes." Kohaku said, shuddering. "And she's not even my friend anyway! Hold on a moment. That girl over there...!"

She gasped. Across from the movie theatre, staring at the beach from the lavender stone wall, was none other than Aika Makino in the flesh. Excited, Kohaku stared at her in awe, while her parents exchanged amused looks.

"You must have summoned her forth, Kohaku-chan." Tomokazu said.

"Why not say hello?" Naoko asked.

"What? But...I can't just..." Kohaku said.

"Don't be so shy. Didn't you just say that she tries to bond with all her fans?" Tomokazu said, gently.

"Well..." Kohaku said. "I suppose I might not get another chance. Even if I see her in concert, in the front row. Here I go!

Trying not to let herself get too starstruck, she walked across the road, pretending as if she wasn't going straight towards the rather dainty singer. However, Aika turned around, and smiled.

"Um...Makino-san?" Kohaku said.

"Yes? Are you alright?" Aika asked, gently. Kohaku shook her heard, frantically trying to think of something to say. "It's a wonderful place, Tarumi. So much nicer than Ginumi, I feel."

"Same. Um...I'm sorry, I won't keep you too long, but..." Kohaku said. "I just wanted to say I really love your music."

"Oh?" Aika said, a little surprised. "Thank you very much. It's always nice to hear nice things about my music. Tell me, what's your favourite song?"

"It'd have to be  _Floating Stones_." Kohaku said. "I learned how to play it on the flute, actually."

"Really? I was never good at the flute. I've always loved the piano." Aika said, happily. "Are you still in high school?"

"Yes, I'm attending Kansei High. I'm in my second year there." Kohaku said, happily.

"Ah, I've heard good things about that school. Of course, Chieki is a fine place too." Aika said, fondly. "I'm sorry, I'm running behind for a rendezvous in Ginumi, but perhaps we'll talk again. What was your name, by the way?"

"Oh, it's Kohaku!"

"Ah. A nice name." Aika said. "We should talk again online. There's a great group chat I hold with my fans every week. I'd love to see you there."

"Great! My dad's a fan of yours too. Maybe he'll join in!" Kohaku said, pointing to her parents, who waved politely at them.

"Hmm. He's older than most of my demographic, but...I'm happy to have anyone listen to my music." Aika said, cheerfully. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kohaku. Have a wonderful weekend!"

"You too!" Kohaku said. Aika left, heading down the road, while Kohaku returned to her parents.

"See? Not all celebrities are pure evil!" Tomokazu said, laughing out loud.

"You've made that joke at least once a year..." Naoko said, shaking her head.

"And that's why I went into politics instead of stand-up comedy. Ah well." Tomokazu said. "Let's go for something to eat."

"Okay!" Kohaku said, brimming with joy. Her brief encounter with Aika was far better than that awful movie she saw. And a meal with her family would make this a completely perfect day, she thought.

**|Ginumi Shore|14:00 pm|**

The two girls were exploring the sea-facing Ginumi district, the most built up area of the city. A splendor of flashy hotels and restaurants glittered the coastline, with a golden beach covered with loungers. Three small artificial islands were being constructed further away, in an attempt to expand Ginumi in a similar manner to Tokyo's Odaiba. A huge bridge was being built to connect all three islands to the city, somewhat resembling the famous Rainbow Bridge.

"Wow. Watermelon ice cream is way better than I thought it'd be." Natsumi said, happily licking her cone.

"If you say so, but for me, it's mango or nothing!" Asami said, teasingly. The two had seem some of the popular stores and attractions of Ginumi, such as the stone pillar that constantly had water flowing down from it, like an urban waterfall. There was also the popular Seabreeze Gardens, dedicated to flowers, that had several places for people to have barbecues.

"I love Ginumi. But I wish Chieki was nearer." Natsumi said, as they sat on the stone wall between the promenade and the sand.

"Me too. How many times have we been here since we met? Are we in the double digits now?" Asami asked.

"Probably. I suck at keeping count at these things." Natsumi said. "You doing one of your fan gatherings any time soon?"

"Actually, I've got one planned for tomorrow after school. It's going to be big. And I mean really big. About fifty people are coming from all over the city for a Q&A!" Asami said, happily. "It's not as much as some people stars online these days get, but -"

"Wow, that sounds cool! I'll go too. I'll be your bodyguard! Hehe!" Natsumi said.

"Don't be silly, Natsu. I can look after myself now." Asami said. She cleared her throat, and got serious. "I...I need to tell you something. It's about what happened before we met at Chieki."

"What's this, all of a sudden?" Natsumi asked.

"I used to be friends with another group of girls. Ayako, Moriko, and Takumi. We spent every day with each other..." Asami said, hands tightly gripping the wall. Her heart seemed heavy as she reflected on her former band of friends. "I thought I'd never have to be without them."

"What happened to them?" Natsumi asked. Asami was quiet, and then Natsumi realised. "They're the girls in that photo, right?"

"...Yes." Asami said. "It feels like yesterday. We were all so happy, until this...this  _bastard_  starts bullying us online. He was relentless, too! He kept making new online profiles just to abuse us, all because it seemed like fun to him. He made us all feel worthless, like we had no reason to live in this world..."

Natsumi listened, gazing at her now tearful friend. She had never heard anything like this before. Asami never got this emotional in any of her videos, but perhaps pain like this was not meant to be captured for others to watch. This was personal, and between close friends. For that reason, Natsumi stayed still, listening carefully.

"It got so bad, they even called the police. But it didn't help..." Asami said. "Do you know why?"

"No...Why?" Natsumi asked, tense.

"His father is in the police!" Asami said, raising her voice. "And as far as that bastard's dad was concerned, it was all just harmless teasing. Well, it wasn't. How harmless can it be when all of them killed themselves?!"

"...That's..." Natsumi muttered, unable to process what she had just heard. Three innocent girls, harassed for no reason at all. Driven to suicide, and the perpetrator was still walking free."That's inhuman!"

"He might as well have pulled the trigger on them. Him & and his scumsucking father. I'll never see either of the girls again!" Asami said. "...And he's still out there, up to his same tricks! It won't end, not as long as he can run to daddy and beg him not to do anything about it!"

"...I'm so sorry, Asami. I never realised such a horrible thing could happen in this city." Natsumi said. Asami gave her a hug, and smiled.

"I don't like talking about it myself." Asami said. "My parents were at their wit's end trying to get me to go back to school. I must have gone through hundreds of counselling sessions. But now that I've finally told you...I can start making peace with what's happened."

Natsumi nodding, managing a small smile. Now Asami was hugely popular, and perhaps that would explain her work ethic. She was working so hard for her friends, to make them proud.

"But it's not like he can get away with it forever. The police might not be able to do anything about it, but now I know for sure I can! I'm far stronger now than I was back then. It's like...I know exactly who I am. And the other me inside."

"What do you mean?" Natsumi asked, confused.

"I...I can't say, not just yet. The important thing is, I finally have a chance to make Ryosuke Kinoshita pay." Asami said, smiling. "This is top secret, so I don't want you telling anybody. Not even Masato."

"This is safe, right?" Natsumi asked, concerned. "What if something happens to you?"

Asami was quiet. She stared at the waves, as they glistened in the sunlight. Whatever she had planned, she was deeply reflecting on it.

"Don't worry, Natsumi. No matter what happens, I'll protect you. I couldn't save Ayako, Moriko, or Takumi, no matter how hard I tried. But I won't let the same happen to you."

"How can you be so sure?" Natsumi asked. "What if the police get involved with whatever you're up to?"

Asami shook her head, laughing. "They won't be able to stop us. We'll be just fine, I promise. But I really want you there with me. The thing is, Ryosuke is acquaintances with someone you know very well."

"Who's that?" Natsumi asked. "...You don't mean Rokurou Iwasaki, do you?!"

"Yeah, that's the guy. He's the one who forced Masato to tear apart that old book, right?" Asami said. Natsumi nodded, shuddering at the thought.

"He's probably forgotten all about it. Bastard!" Natsumi said. "If we can punish him too, then I'll definitely going with you!"

Asami, elated, smiled. "I'm so glad. Then if you're absolutely sure, meet me tomorrow after school. You, me, and the other fans - we'll have a chance to bring justice. For Shintaro, Kohaku, and my former friends."

"I won't let you down." Natsumi said. "I don't want either of those two to ruin anybody's life ever again."

"Oh, they won't. I promise you that." Asami said. "We'll be doing the opposite. After tomorrow, no one will  _ever_  have the chance to suffer at their hands."

The two of them left Ginumi, chatting about their regular lives at school. Yet Natsumi couldn't help but dwell on everything that Asami had just told her.

_What is she planning to do? Surely, she's not planning to kill them, is she? If she does anything drastic, I have to stop her. But what that boy did to her friends is wrong. I can't just let him get away with it. The police may not lift a finger, but I certainly will!_

**|Tarumi – Yew Steakhouse|17:00 pm|**

The Yew Steakhouse was a top-class restaurant, and while the prices weren't exactly low, the quality and presentation was nigh-unbeatable. Kohaku had only been here once before, so it felt great to be back. They were on the ground floor, decorated with white walls and blue marble flooring, in a booth towards the back.

"So Kohaku-chan, how is school?" Tomokazu asked, while looking at the menu.

"It's been great, father!" Kohaku answered happily. "We have a new Geography teacher. He's really nice, and much more competent than the last one. Although..."

"What's the matter, dear?" Naoko asked.

"He's..." Kohaku said, awkwardly. "His name is Hideki. Hideki Yoshinaga."

There was a stony silence, as Tomokazu gazed in anger at the sound of that family name. Kohaku gulped, but Naoko held her hand tightly.

"Damn. They're still around, those Yoshinaga kids..." Tomokazu said, angrily. "Haven't they caused you enough trouble?"

"It's fine, dad..." Kohaku said, gazing up at her father's eyes. "Really. It's not like Hideki was involved. And it's not like Masato or Natsumi are at school with us anyway."

"Hideki always seemed like such a nice young man. It's such a shame his brother and sister turned out to be such awful bullies. I wonder what they're doing now?" Naoko said.

"I just hope they're not making a nuisance in whatever school they're at." Tomokazu. "I, for one, will never forgive them for what they put you through."

"I..." Kohaku began, but trailed off. She wanted to say that she had already forgiven them. But then she realised how it must have felt back in those days. Her parents, when they heard about the incident with Shintaro and his grandfather's book, were apoplectic with rage. To see their only child reduced to tears, day after day, must have been awful for them.

_There's so many things I want to say to you both, especially since we don't get to spend that much time together during the week. But how can I tell you that I'm friends with Masato? That I want to be friends with Natsumi again? If I do that, I might end up bringing up the Theio Komos. And I can't do that._

"Darling, you're upsetting her..." Naoko said, holding her husband's hand. He sighed, and mumbled a short apology. The group ate in silence, at least until her father looked to the right at the front door. Having just entered the group was another family of three – and two of them Kohaku recognised.

"Oh, there's Komatsu-san!" Tomokazu said.

"Ah, and that must be his boy Noburo!" Naoko said. "He's in Kansei as a first-year, I heard."

"I know, I've seen him around." Kohaku said. "We've not exactly had much of a chance to talk, though. He's rather enamoured with another student."

"I didn't know that..." Tomokazu said, chuckling. "Shame, though. Perhaps you could have invited him to Aika's concert."

"Dad, don't be silly! I barely know him anyway!" Kohaku said, blushing. She had to admit, the more she looked at Noburo, she did admit he was quite handsome. If only her father and Kei wouldn't tease her about it. To her fright, however, Noburo noticed her, and waved. Shigeru saw her as well..but did not emote at all. Clearly, he wanted to keep any association with her secret. She'd have to do the same.

**|Yew Steakhouse – Upstairs|17:05 pm|**

"I didn't think I'd cry so much..." Kaiyo said, wiping away a tear. "That was a wonderful audition, Noburo-kun! They'll have to cast you for sure!"

"I really hope so..." Noburo said. "Teruko's up for a role next week in some new TV series. Maybe I should have auditioned for that too."

"You shouldn't mix business with pleasure, son. Romance on the set might conflict with your acting duties." Shigeru said. "But I've never seen you act like that before, Noburo. It's as if you've been treading the boards for decades."

"Hardly..." Noburo said, a little embarrassed. "But...thanks, Dad. Having you there helped."

Shigeru smiled, and the group ordered. After doing so, they continued to talk about the play and Noburo's audition. It wasn't the first time Shigeru had seen the play, but he was starting to consider that his son had bested the actors that came before him. Of course, he would be biased, but fatherly pride continued to swell in his heart.

_It's been so hard to spend time with him and Kaiyo since that damn Gnosis got sent to my office. Today was perfect. My son's ambitions of being an actor might just pay off. As long as he doesn't fall behind at school, I'll be a happy man._

"By the way, who was that girl you were waving to downstairs?" Kaiyo asked, curiously.

"Oh, that was...actually, I dunno her name. But she goes to Kansei, in the year above me. Me and Dad saw her in the box office, remember? It was when we were getting the tickets for me and Teruko to see Electric Sea!"

"That's the rock band from Portugal, isn't it?" Kaiyo asked. "They're not to my taste. Quite honestly, I'd rather hear that nice Aika Makino girl sing."

"She's okay, I guess. But Electric Sea know how to put on a real show! Especially their lead guitarist. Wish I could play the guitar like Netuno Fonseca can." Noburo continued. "Oh yeah, in one of their concert videos, he swings onto the stage with a huge rope, and fireworks are going off, and there's dancers wearing a Chinese dragon costume, and..."

_He has some strange tastes. Even so, I'm glad I was able to see my son perform today. So talented, and only fifteen. I never had the aptitude for that back when I was his age, or even now. I hope I remember this day for a long time. For it might be some time before things are this peaceful again._


	14. Zero Factor

**|April 10th, Monday|Ginumi-Grand Laguna Hotel|15:45 pm|**

The group had decided to meet at the hotel via their Gnosis, and so after school, the group left. Thankfully, Akari didn't feel the need to tag along – had she tried to ask more questions and get involved, matters would have been complicated, but she didn't seem curious about their frequent gatherings.

"Good afternoon, everyone." Novalie said.

"You look well. Good, we don't want to go into this weary." Hiroyuki said. "Shigeru's still at work, so it'll just be the two of us for now."

"It's good to see you two again." Kei said. "I had a quiet day yesterday. Well, other than helping out at the toy store near my dormitory. It seems like a fun part time job."

"Nice!" Masato said. "Although we should get down to business, right?"

"Yes. The matter of Mizuho." Novalie said. "From what we've gathered, inhabitants of Mizuho support Bythos far more than the other six. We're talking over 50%, whereas other districts are around 15-20%."

"That's unsettling..." Kei said.

"There's more. In the Theio Kosmos, we've noticed that Hanashima Hospital has now changed completely. Before this week, it was more or less the exact same as the original building. Now, it's a fortress on an actual island. For such a drastic change to have taken place, there can only be one explanation." Hiroyuki said.

"A Cognition Core!" Shintaro said. "Like what we're using for this hotel!"

"But can a Core influence people of an entire city's district?" Kohaku asked.

"It's not like we know the full scope of these items." Novalie said. "This is the only one we've been able to manifest, but it only controls this building. The one in Mizuho not only influences Hanashima Hospital, but the entire ward."

"That's not good." Kei said.

"...Obviously." Hiroyuki said. "The more people that ally with Bythos, the harder it becomes for us to deal with them. We need to do something about that Core, and fast."

"Then should we head there now?" Shintaro asked.

"You intend to infiltrate that hideous fortress, don't you?" Novalie asked. "Two of our agents have already tried to get through. Yet the 'water' surrounding the island – which normally would be the gardens and car park – complicates things."

"There's no boat or anything?" Shintaro asked.

"None." Novalie said, nervously. "Not only that, the water is highly toxic. Shadows and Persona have the ability to infect targets with 'Poison'. That water matches the same miasma that creates the Poison effect. Therefore, trying to swim through it would only hinder us."

"Then we've got to find a way in..." Kohaku said. "Such as the code."

"We've got an idea." Hiroyuki said. "The most populated part of Mizuho is Kita Crossing. No connection to me, of course. But we've found evidence that members of Bythos congregate there around various of the nightclubs and other establishments."

"Evidence? Like what?" Kohaku asked.

"Their Gnosis devices are inferior to ours. They leave traces of their presence. Sort of like footprints. For example, in Sogen Park, a faint red mist was there after you defeated Hisaya, Fumihiro and Ryosei." Novalie said. "Kita Crossing became especially thick with red mist recently..."

Kei looked up, resolved. "Then we go to Kita Crossing. We'll find our way to get inside Hanashima. Once we do that, we'll seize that core and free Mizuho from the clutches of Bythos!"

"Yeah!" Shintaro said. "We'll show Keiya and his buddies not to screw with us!"

"Y-Yeah..." Masato said. He looked to the ground, trying to avoid Hiroyuki's harsh stare.

"Fighting a genuine Persona user could be dangerous." Kohaku said. "...But don't fear. I'll do my best to keep you all healthy."

"Thanks, Kohaku. And as always, I've got your back." Shintaro said.

"Let's be on our way." Novalie said. "Hiroyuki, are you prepared to use Masamune?"

"Of course, Vinters." The Colonel smiled. "My Persona hasn't failed to cut down a Shadow yet."

The six of them left for Mizuho's Sogen Park, preparing to reach the busy Kita Crossing. Yet in the ordinary version, strange events were unfolding as well...

**|Mizuho – Kita Crossing|16:21 pm|**

The Kita Crossing of Mizuho was a busy intersection, and a major nightlife centre in a similar vein to Shibuya of Tokyo. Asami had taken Natsumi here after their classes finished, leaving Masato to whatever plans he had.

_She looks serious. I really hope she doesn't do anything crazy. Asami, I know you hate what happened to your friends, but how far are you willing to go for your revenge? No, I better not ask that. Let's see..._

"Asami, I still don't get it. I thought this was just a Q&A session?" Natsumi asked. "And it's also a way to get even with Rokurou and Ryosuke?"

"It will become clear soon enough." Asami said, happily. The two girls weaved past the people walking by, but as they did, Natsumi shuddered. Some of them had oddly vacant looks. Not only that, she had seen more and more Bythos posters all over Mizuho.

"...What's going on? What's with the Bythos mania today?" Natsumi asked.

"Don't worry about anything else, Natsumi-chan. Today is about justice." Asami said. "Here we go! The club Kaleidoscope!"

True to its name, it was a colourful, and slightly tacky looking nightclub. It didn't appear to be open yet, however. A crowd of about fifty teenage girls were waiting, and when they saw Asami, they cheered triumphantly.

"Hama-sama!" They cried in unison. The more they chanted, the more unnerved Natsumi felt. Should they really be so in sync? They all looked different, but they didn't seem to be moving as individuals.

"Hi everyone!" Asami said, waving. "This is my friend Natsumi! She's going to join us!"

"Natsumi-chan!" They all cried. The young Yoshinaga waved shyly, but the crowd didn't seem to pick up on her growing unease.

"Are...you okay, Natsumi?" Asami asked.

"I'm fine. But are we really going into a place like this?" Natsumi asked. "We're all underage."

"Well, we're not going to the 'normal' version of this place..." Asami said. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a black mobile phone. Natsumi gasped. It was the exact same kind Masato had mysteriously received.

"How?" Natsumi asked. "That's a Gnosis, isn't it?"

"...Yes." Asami said. "Natsumi, this may look like an ordinary phone, and it can certainly masquerade as one. But there's a lot more power to this device than you realise. Watch..."

Asami went into an app, and pressed an icon. Suddenly, everything went hazy, and Natsumi almost fainted. Her head was spinning, and she couldn't see anything. All she heard was a roaring wind. She fell to her knees, feeling sick.

"Help! Someone!"

**|Theio Kosmos – Kita Crossing|16:30 pm|**

"Here we are. Kita Crossing." Novalie said, looking around the area. "I'm detecting Shadows. They could appear at any moment. You'd best be prepared."

"We know the risks." Masato said.

"How should we do this?" Kei said. "Kita Crossing is the heart of Mizuho. Do we have anywhere specific to check?"

"My advice is to split us into two teams." Hiroyuki said. "Masato, Shintaro, you two boys are with me."

"...Oh. Okay." Shintaro said. Masato nodded, but seemed hesistant.

_But I wanted to be with Kei and Kohaku..._

"Then me and Kei are to go with Novalie?" Kohaku asked.

"Yes. We'll take the left side and explore the streets. You boys take the right." Novalie said. "We'll rendezvous back here at 17:30 – in the event we're unable to find anything substantial. If we do, of course, we'll contact us each other."

"Best of luck, Shintaro-kun." Kei said.

"Thanks...Kei-chan." Shintaro said, blushing slightly.

The girls left, leaving the men to themselves.

"Um..." Masato said. He wanted to say something, but with Hiroyuki nearby, he felt unable to speak.

"Let's begin. We'll take the Umeda Underground Mall, and find out if there's anything."

The boys headed out, wary of the foes ahed.

**|Umeda Underground Mall|16:56 pm|**

This mall was simplistic, with plain white walls and chequered floors, but there was a huge array of stores. Hiroyuki seemed interested in the electronics shop, in particular the strip of LED lights they had in the front window. There was not a food court like in Bella Donna, rather a few cafes. Shintaro didn't come to this mall that often, but perhaps he'd check out the used book store here.

"Wait. Isn't that an Arms Race?" Shintaro said, pointing to a store further down.

"Yeah, and there's a RainBow..." Masato said.

"The Bella Donna isn't the only shopping place to go if you're fighting Shadows." Hiroyuki said. "Although these basically lead you to the same store. So think of these doors like teleporters."

"Neat. Teleporting doors...wish someone would invent those." Masato said. "Then I can finally meet Dorothy..."

"Who's Dorothy now?" Hiroyuki asked, curious.

"Uh..." Masato said, nervously. "My...girlfriend. She lives in New York."

"Ah...you sound like me when I first met Miori." Hiroyuki said, fondly. "I was new to the military life back then, and I hated being apart from her so often. But now we're together in the same city."

"I don't think I'd ever make it as a soldier..." Shintaro said.

"Some people are born to be soldiers, kid." Hiroyuki said. "Me, I knew I wanted to protect my country from when I was a little kid. Didn't have the brains to do much else, really. But it paid off. Me and the men and women following my command have done some great work over the years. All that matters is keeping Japan safe."

"Your wife must be proud of you, Kita-san." Masato said.

"She is. So's my little girl. Kaori, we called her." Hiroyuki said, fondly. "She's a little younger than you two, turned thirteen back in February, but she's a smart girl – she takes after her mother in that regard. I'm sure she'll make it to either Chieki or Kansei."

"Well, purple uniforms are the way to go..." Shintaro said, winking.

"No way dude! Green is in!" Masato said, smirking.

"Her favourite colour is blue, actually - Hang on." Hiroyuki said. He used his Gnosis to summon his weapon – a rifle.

"...What's the matter, Kita-san?" Shintaro asked.

"Shadows?" Masato asked, wary.

"Probably. We should be careful -"

Appearing out of the fountain, with a huge splash, were two watery maidens. One was a blue-skinned beauty with a Hindu-vibe, which the Gnosis identified as 'Asparas'. The other was a Napaea, a Greek fairy.

" **Wow! Humans! And they're all boys!"** The Napaea said.  **"There's a lot of people coming to Mizuho today. My friend told me all about it! Some really popular girl is holding a big event here!"**

" **As far as I was aware, all the attendees are girls. I doubt these boys would be welcome. Nor that soldier. Perhaps we should get rid of them. They repulse me."** The Apsaras said.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen." Masato said, his bat at the ready.

"Prepare yourselves!" Shintaro shouted, rapier at the ready.

"Stand back. I'll take care of them." Hiroyuki said. "Appear! Masamune!"

With a strong burst of blue light, his Persona appeared. Sitting in mid-air in the lotus position, it wore black robes with a green flame pattern covering it. Its feet and hands seemed to be made out of steel, shining brightly under the lights of the mall. While its head seemed to be of flesh, the skin was a dark green, with a singular bright blue eye, and he had a helmet bearing a crescent moon that seemed to be glowing a similar azure hue. Floating behind him was a katana in a white sheath, rotating slowly.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Masamune...I pledge my blade to the righteous, to cut down all invaders!**

" **Argh! That is one ugly Persona!"** The Napaea shrieked.

" **It's far less handsome than that gentleman we saw last week..."** The Apsaras said.

"Silence!" Hiroyuki said. "Now die! Fudo!"

Masamune waved his arms outward, and from within his sleeves, dozens of small swords, or tanto, were flung at the two Shadows. The resulting bloodbath killed them instantly, but Masamune remained on the battlefield.

"That was great!" Shintaro said.

"Quiet!" Hiroyuki snapped. "It's not over yet..."

A burst of black smoke appeared, and another Shadow appeared. A vicious looking beast on all fours, which the Gnosis had registered as a Shiisa – something of a cross between a dog and a lion.

" **BAD OLD MAN SMELL WORSE THAN MOTHER. BUT ME NO SCARED OF YOU. ME KILL YOU!"**

"Bad, old man..." Hiroyuki said, amused. "That's a new one. I've had a lot of nicknames during my years in the Ground Forces, but that isn't even close to the most expletive."

" **ME NOT CARE! ME NOT LIKE YOU!"**

"Articulate little buddy, isn't he? Wonder if he'd make a good pet for Kaori?" Hiroyuki asked. "Nah. She prefers her mech toys anyway. Masamune! Use the Raijinken!"

Masamune complied, and the katana hovering behind him glided into his hand. He grabbed the hilt, and prepared to draw it. The Shiisa was also preparing an attack, most likely one of immense heat. Before it could breath the flames of Maragi, however, there was a massive flash – Masamune had struck with his sword, charged with electricity.

The beastly Shadow was cut in two, and dissolved without another word. Shintaro and Masato stared at each other, with both fright and horror.

"There." Hiroyuki said. "That was _shockingly_ easy."

"Do you use those kinds of puns with your family?" Shintaro asked, raising an eyebrow derisively.

"Yes. To heavy groans." Hiroyuki said, smirking. "Being an embarrassing dad is another of my duties."

"You're really something, Kita-san." Masato said. "...Wish I was more like you."

"Hey...lighten up." Hiroyuki said, smiling a little. "You're not bad, boy. You just need some experience."

"Trying to cheer me up?" Masato said. "...I've been trying to do that for so long. But all I keep thinking about is how stupid I've been. All the friendships I've ruined. The amount of times I've let my family down. Hideki's been trying to keep me out of trouble since I was born, but I still keep screwing things up. I...I don't want to keep that happening."

"Masato..." Shintaro said. "You're no longer Rokurou's flunky. He's nothing to do with us anymore. You're stronger now."

"Huh?" Masato said.

"Wasn't it Rokurou who kept saying that kind of crap about you? He made you feel so worthless. I've been thinking about it a lot since we met again." Shintaro said. "You don't screw everything up. Look at your life now. You're one of the best baseball players Chieki has ever seen. You've got a girlfriend in New York who loves you. And...your brother and sister have stuck by you all these years. And I don't think it's for any other reason than they love you."

There was a moment of silence, as the two boys looked at each other. Their 'commanding officer' smiled, seemingly proud of them.

"I don't ever want to end up as someone's minion again." Masato said. "Sure, I may be following orders still, but from the right people. If I ever got a command that was wrong, I'd follow my heart instead, But I'm definitely sticking by your side from now on, Shintaro."

"Same goes for me to you." Shintaro said.

"You kids have a bit of a history, huh?" Hiroyuki said.

"You can say that again..." Masato said, scratching his head.

"Brings back memories. I had some good friends back in my school days. They joined the military with me too. We stuck by each other, even when things got hairy." Hiroyuki said. "One of them even saved my life once. If it hadn't been for him, I'd never have gotten back home to see my baby girl..."

"Camaraderie is a beautiful thing." Shintaro said. "...That's one thing you can't learn through just reading books."

"Yeah. Hiroyuki, I'm gonna do my best to get stronger." Masato said. "I might make mistakes, but I want to reach your level. Maybe even surpass it."

"That'd be awesome..." Hiroyuki said, smiling, and he ruffled Masato's hair. "Spoken like a true cadet. I'm thinking looking after you boys is going to be rewarding."

"I hope so. But we shouldn't stay around here too long, though. I don't think Bythos come here that much."

"The bookworm's right. I'm confused by what one of those Shadows said before. An event a 'really popular' girl is holding?" Hiroyuki asked. "I didn't hear anything about that, not even from my daughter..."

"Now that you mention it, sis mentioned something about a Q&A Asami Hamasaki was doing..." Masato said. "Wait a minute. That's it!"

"What?" Shintaro asked. "Is it about Asami?"

"That's what that Shadow meant the other day! He said something about a 'moon guy'. That's got to be Keiya, right? And he brought up the 'video lady', too!" Masato said, disturbed.

"What are you trying to say?" Hiroyuki asked. "...That Asami Hamasaki is a member of Bythos?"

"...Yes!" Masato shouted. "This isn't good. They never said where in Mizuho they were having this event, but...Natsumi's in danger!"

"Damn. I better call Novalie!" Hiroyuki said. He began calling her number via the Gnosis, tapping his foot impatiently for a reponse...

**|Kita Crossing – Gilded Glass|17:01 pm|**

The girls had elected to stay indoors during their search, and were now in the Gilded Glass area filled with bars and restaurants. It was somewhat tacky, and Kohaku wasn't particularly drawn to any of these establishments. She was almost grateful for the chance to fight Shadows instead of look at these places.

"Ugh..." Kohaku said, staring at a rather run-down pub. "These windows are filthy. Do people actually come here for a drink?"

"You'd be surprised. For some people, they find this atmosphere...comforting." Novalie said. "I must admit, I'm partial to izakaya, and there's a nice one here. Edamame is a comfort food of mine nowadays."

"How long have you lived in Shinshuto, Vinters-san?" Kei asked.

"Um...you girls can just call me Novalie. I'm not that much older than you are. And I've been a student here for about two years now. All of my studies up to that point were in Norway."

"I've never been anywhere in Europe..." Kohaku said.

"I think you'd like Norway, Kohaku. Especially my hometown in Oslo. Although it's second to Tokyo in terms of living expenses. Even so, it's a beautiful city, rich with culture. Once I've finished my studies in Japan, I may just return to Norway to get my PHD."

"What sort of field are you studying?" Kei asked. "Political science, right?"

"Yes, exactly. And a few classes in psychology, ethics, etc." Novalie said. "...I hate fighting. Even when it's with Shadows. I can't stand it when people get into battle, when they should be working together. 2017 AD, and the world is still so full of strife."

"...It's awful, fighting another human being." Kohaku said. "I don't want to see anyone die. Or have to kill just to stay alive. I don't care if that's how it is in the wild. We're human beings. We can choose to avoid bloodshed."

"But not everyone can be negotiated with..." Kei said, sadly.

"Even so, my intent is to work for the United Nations." Novalie said. "It's the best way I can help my home country. And the entire world. One step at a time..."

"Hold on!" Kohaku said, as they just reached the outside of an Irish pub called McSorleys. "Something's coming!"

A group of three identical Shadows appeared, all rather sinister looking female bird creatures called 'Strix'.

" **What are you girls doing here? The action's happening elsewhere tonight, hun!"** The middle Strix, apparently the leader, said.

"What action?" Kei asked.

" **Huh? Those aren't the uniforms the peons wear! These guys are weird. Let's get them!"**

"Wait! You didn't answer -"

"It looks like we're not getting an answer..." Novalie said. "Then it looks like it's time for me to reveal myself. Please, see us through! Sága!"

Emerging for a burst of blue smoke was the Persona that Kohaku had been waiting to see. A blue skinned feminine goddess, with bright blonde wavy hair down to her knees. She was dressed in a bright green dress, with bare feet. In her hands was a large jug of an unknown alcohol. A Norse goddess, a fact she had learned from Shintaro after he had perused several texts on mythology.

" **That's your idea of beauty? This lady with the blonde hair, she's not in high school! Where on earth did she come from?"**

"I already told these girls where I'm from. I'm Norwegian. But I'm in no mood to communicate with you dreadful wretches! Sága! Freezing Tonic!"

Sága flew over the three Shadows, and turned her urn upside down – and with her hand gestures, she turned the water pouring down extremely cold. When it touched the bodies of the winged heinous demons, it completely froze them solid, even their wings. Although somehow, they remained in mid-air.

"...That was impressive, Novalie. But shouldn't they be falling to the ground and shattering?" Kei asked.

"Shadows don't always confirm to the law of physics. Nor do our Personas, thankfully." Novalie said, happily.

"Take THIS!" Kohaku yelled. She ran forward, and swung her naginata forcefully – shattering one Strix into shards of ice, that quickly melted into a black ooze.

"Begone!" Kei shouted, summoning a new Persona she had acquired – it was a Kobold, like the ones that had been killed by EX-NIHILO on the rooftop of Chieki. With a powerful swing of its club, it broke another of the Strix into pieces.

"Allow me." Novalie said. "Hiyah!" With great aplomb, she thrust forward into the heart of the last Strix – and her relief, it too shattered into a pile of ice.

"...Were we too hasty?" Kei asked, worried. "They didn't tell us anything about this 'action'."

"Yes, you're right..." Novalie said. "Hang on! I hear voices! Hide in here!"

She opened the door to a rather foul-smelling wine bar and ushered the two girls to join her. They ran inside, and slammed the door shut.

"I didn't hear anything..." Kohaku asked.

"I've got good ears, actually." Novalie said. "Helped a lot when playing hide and seek with my cousins. But I heard three voices."

Outside of the bar, after a few minutes, the team could hear voices.

"...Quit grumbling. Do you know how hard it was to break you two out of jail?"

_That's Hisaya! But I thought Hiroyuki had arrested her..._

"Yeah, but we have to go to work already?!" A boy – who Kohaku recognised was Fumihiro – said.

"Being stuck in the Theio Kosmos jail is even worse than I've read about the Akartharto jail. Not that I've ever been incarcerated out of this..." Another male, most likely Ryosei said.

"Look, if we do well tonight, Keiya will reward us!" Hisaya said. "You never know, we could end up part of the Aeon Administrators! After all, one of them is -"

"Keiya said that?" Ryosei asked.

"Yeah, no joke!" Hisaya said. "Anyway, we've got to hurry up and find Kaleidoscope. It's to the north of Kita Crossing. Wish I'd never taken a shortcut through here..."

"Just hope we don't run into those kids again. Losing to them twice is pretty fucking embarrassing." Fumihiro said.

"I know, I know! That's why we can't make any more mistakes." Hisaya said. "Or we'll end up like Rokurou Iwasaki..."

"Oh yeah...I wish we could view the show. But we got to stand guard." Ryosei said. "Let's go. There's no one here except Shadows."

There was a rush of footsteps, and again, there was silence. The three girls left the dark, stinking pub and eagerly embraced the outdoor air.

"So that's where we need to go!" Novalie said. "A friend invited me for drinks at one of their student nights. It was awful. Overpriced, tacky, garish, and all of the hand dryers were broken."

"I feel we may be encroaching on First World Problems there, Novalie..." Kei said, amused.

"What are they planning at Kaleidoscope?" Kohaku said. "...Rokurou Iwasaki! I remember that name now!"

"Who is that? A friend of yours?" Novalie asked, gently.

"Not even close. One of the worst people you could ever meet. He was the ringleader of a group of bullies at my middle school. Masato ended up his flunky, like so many other boys." Kohaku said. "...But what are Bythos going to do him?"

"We've got to find out – hmm?" Novalie saw her Gnosis was ringing, and answered it. "Hi Hiroyuki – what? It's  _her_?!" Novalie shouted. "We've heard about some event too! It's at the Club Kaleidoscope! We'll meet you back at the intersection. Be safe." She hung up, and looked to the others, gravely.

"...Is everything okay?" Kohaku asked.

"Not exactly." Novalie said. "The person arranging this event...may be Asami Hamasaki. And Masato's sister is attending."

Kohaku gasped. Could Natsumi be part of Bythos? Or...was she in danger?

"Kohaku-chan. Let's go. We have to help Natsumi!" Kei said.

"R-Right!" Kohaku said. The group left for the central part of Kita Crossing, frantically.

**|Club Kaleidoscope|17:01 pm|**

It seemed like Natsumi had been unconscious for some time. But when she came too, the bizarre piercing sounds had been quietened, and her vision had returned to normal. She sat up, and rubbed her still sore forehead. The atmosphere had changed, and she felt a chill down her spine.

"...What happened?!" Natsumi asked, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She saw her friend walking over to her, concerned. Asami had changed outfits from her school uniform to an ensemble coloured with green and black stripes – a tank top, skirt, shoes, and fingerless gloves. She also had a silver chain belt around her waist, as well as her favourite pink earrings.

"Natsumi, you're not hurt, are you?" Asami asked, holding her hand and helping her to her feet. "You were out cold for a long time. Do we need to get you to the hospital?"

"No, there's no need for that. I'm okay now." Natsumi said. "...This  _is_  Kaleidoscope, right?"

The place was brightly coloured with strangely beautiful patterns. It really was like looking into a kaleidoscope no matter where you went. The tables and chairs were strangely designed, and the stage where a band would be performing had two circular platforms in the middle – almost like trapdoors.

"Yeah! Isn't it the coolest club you've ever wanted to sneak into?" Asami said. The harsh pink light shone on her, but this soon rotated between other lurid hues. Natsumi's eyes began to hurt after a while. In fact, she was starting to get a headache. Something wasn't right about this place, she could tell.

"Hama-Sama!"

Natsumi looked around, and saw the other girls cheering. Now, more than ever, they seemed to be a singular entity. Something was affecting them, but what, Natsumi couldn't tell.

"Welcome to the Kaleidoscope!" Asami said. "Normally, we'd never get inside here at our age. But this isn't the same Kaleidoscope you've read about. This one belongs entirely to us! It exists in the same place, the same time, as the normal one. And for tonight, it's all yours!"

"Yay!" The girls cheered. The tables suddenly flashed, and various drinks were on all the tables. It didn't appear they were alcoholic, but Natsumi still looked at them with suspicion.

"Come here with me, Natsumi-chan. The moment you've been waiting for has finally arrived." Asami said, almost delighted. The two of them stepped onto the stage, to thunderous applause. The stage seemed almost hazy. Just then, another figure appeared, a man in a black suit and cape.

"It seems everything is in order, Hamasaki." The man said. He was handsome, but rather stoic. Natsumi stepped backwards, but Asami held her hand. "Who's she?"

"My friend. The one I asked you to find Rokurou for!" Asami said. "You've seen this man before, right?"

"Um...aren't you that new card magician that's been all over the city recently?" Natsumi asked.

"Correct. My name is Keiya Tsukino." He offered his hand to shake, and after Asami nodded, Natsumi slowly shook it. "Might I ask your name, madam?"

"It's Natsumi Yoshinaga."

"A fine name indeed. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Keiya said. "I've taken care of both matters you wanted me to attend to, Hamasaki-san. It was rather simple to arrange things to your specifications."

"Glad to hear it, Keiya-san. You've been a great help." Asami said. "You didn't hurt them  _too_  badly, did you?"

"They're practically untouched." Keiya said. "They were already in this world before I took them into custody. Oh. And the Claret Squad will safeguard the entrance. The prison had some safeguards to prevent break-ins, but if Hisaya was able to disable them, it doesn't say much for their security team."

"Ha... Maybe Hisaya has finally proven herself useful after all." Asami said, smiling. "I'm in a good mood now. We can enjoy ourselves a little before the main event. I'll play some music for the girls. When I give the command, bring them to me."

"Understood. I'll be waiting for your signal." Keiya said, as he sat in a booth and took a beer. "Don't worry. I don't plan to be intoxicated during the mission."

"Please...you're hardly Toki. You can handle at least one beer without turning your life into a car crash." Asami said. Keiya laughed, while Natsumi stared at them both in confusion.

"Hold on, back it up. Who are these people? And how do you two know each other?" Natsumi asked. "And what's this thing about your specifications?"

"It's all part of the plan, Natsumi! Just relax!" Asami said, smiling. "You don't have to worry about the details for now. When the time comes, I'll tell you everything."

"Oh... Okay." Natsumi said. Asami used her Gnosis to play some music, and a screen behind her played a visualiser of all kinds of special colourful effects. Natsumi had never seen anything like it before in her life. The girls were dancing, yes, but...to the exact same rhythm and beat of Asami. All Keiya did was watch, amused.

_I don't have any clue what all this means. I've never even heard Asami mention 'Hisaya', 'Toki' or anything like this before. And why is she in league with a card magician? Sure, he's handsome, but why would he have ties to a high school girl? Please, tell me there's some kind of innocent explanation. I don't want anyone to get hurt..._

**|Kita Crossing|17:31 pm|**

The two parties ran to each other, both looking worried. Once they were all assembled, Novalie and Hiroyuki took control.

"Everyone, here's the situation as far as we know it. A group of over 50 young girls are currently at Club Masquerade, to our north. As far as the citizens are concerned, it's just an occasion for fans of Asami Hamasaki to discuss her videos and ask her questions."

"We're still trying to figure out what the true purpose of this is." Hiroyuki said. "Did you hear anything, Teruya-san?"

"I heard the name Rokurou Iwasaki being mentioned by the Claret Squad..." Kohaku said. "Wait. How come Hisaya got free? She broke the other two out of jail!"

"Fuck! I knew something was wrong when I couldn't find her." Hiroyuki said. "I didn't have time to set up the full defence system. I thought the base level would be enough to deter most intruders."

"The Claret Squad are apparently heading to Masquerade too. If we want to go in, there's no choice but to battle them." Novalie said, bluntly. "What's inside may be even more dangerous..."

"Indeed. I think we'll need to contact Shigeru, and fast." Hiroyuki said. "...We'll meet up with him and come back here as soon as. Don't go anywhere until we return."

"That's an order, by the way." Novalie said sternly. "Let's go."

The two older Persona users left, leaving the four teenagers.

"We...have to stay here, right?" Masato said. "But Natsumi's in there, probably scared to death..."

"I know. I don't want us to be too late to stop whatever Asami is planning." Kohaku said.

"And it involves Rokurou too..." Shintaro said. He shuddered at the thought. That awful day at school, him yelling taunts, cheering as his grandfather's precious book was ripped apart. Ever since then, Shintaro had deeply wished that someone would inflict the same pain on Iwasaki. But not like this. Whatever Bythos had in store, it would be far more painful than what Shintaro went through.

"Whatever his character, we can't leave him at Bythos' mercy. Is that what you're thinking?" Kei asked, gently.

"...Exactly." Shintaro said. "I can't leave people to die, no matter what they did to me."

"...You're a real hero, aren't you?" Masato asked. This wasn't him teasing, Shintaro could tell. "Kaleidoscope isn't far. Let's get going. We'll apologise to Hiroyuki and Novalie later."

"Yeah. Let's GO!" Kohaku said. The four of them ran off, with the aim of saving Natsumi from peril.

**|Club Kaleidoscope – Front Entrance|18:00 pm|**

The front door to Kaleidoscope was relatively plain compared to the bizarre dream-like facade the club itself boasted, with only a neon sign and a few posters advertising special deals for students and the like. Standing around were none other than the Claret Squad, who had only seen a few stray Shadows.

"Why don't they use any other soldiers tonight?" Fumihiro asked.

"It must be to prove ourselves, like Hisaya said. Our last chance to prove our Squad can hold their own and prevail." Ryosei said.

"Exactly. I'm sick of losing to the Azure, Jade and Goldenrod Squads. They keep getting touted as super amazing fighters, but we get no respect." Hisaya said. "With the new Personas we were given, we can handle this just fine."

"...Is anyone even gonna try to get inside?" Fumihiro said. "I ain't seen anythin' worth fighting."

"You never know. Our 'friends' may try to show up..." Hisaya said. She looked ahead, and smirked evilly. "...Bingo."

Running up to the club were none other than Kei, Shintaro, Kohaku and Masato, all looking panicked.

"Well, look who decided to show up!" Hisaya said. "Alone and unprotected!"

"Who are you, Dan Backslide?" Shintaro asked.

"...What the heck is that?" Fumihiro asked, bewildered. Ryosei giggled, apparently the only one familiar with the 1942 short Shintaro knew.

"Oh, fuck off!" Hisaya yelled. "...This is the third time I've had the misfortune of meeting all of you. And it's getting on my nerves. So if you don't turn back right now, and run home to your idyllic family lives, your bodies are going to win the record for the most stab wounds in history."

"How scary." Kei said, unimpressed.

"You think you're so tough cause you can change Persona, don't you?" Hisaya yelled. "I  _hate_  you! I hate  _all of you_! Always getting in our way, making our Squad a total joke. It has to stop!"

"Perhaps you should be the ones running." Shintaro said. "With the information you have on Bythos and their leaders, the police might go easier on you."

"Are you for real?" Fumihiro asked. "I broke out of juvenile hall! I'm not going back to the cops, begging for mercy!"

"The police are full of corrupt cops, anyway. After all, one of them let their son harass a trio of girls into committing suicide." Ryosei said. "That same son shall suffer dearly today. In the name of justice."

"You're not scaring us off. Not until I find my sister!" Masato yelled. "Get out of the way! We want a word with Asami Hamasaki! And Keiya Tsukino!"

The three Squad members looked at each other, shocked.

"...They know?!" Hisaya said, aghast. "But we haven't leaked any information about our Admins?!"

"They must be smarter than I thought." Ryosei said. "We can't let them interfere."

"Right. Now's our time to wipe the floor with them anyway!" Fumihiro said.

"Then our only choice is to battle, once more." Kohaku said.

"Right!" Hisaya said. "My new Persona is far stronger than the last two! I hope you like her! Come, Lilim!"

Appearing from the red mist was a very scantily clad female, with a sinister expression. She wore only a white top that left little to the imagination, a pair of white shorts with a belt, a pair of devil-like wings and a pointed tail.

"Damn girl, your Persona is sexy!" Fumihiro said, happily. Hisaya glared at him, and clicked her fingers. "Oh. Yeah. Here we go...Gozuki!"

He summoned a blue-skinned being with an ox-like head, that wore green clothes and was equipped with a heavy axe. Shintaro couldn't help but think this felt the most appropriate, for someone of Fumihiro's looks and intellect.

"I won't lose again." Ryosei said. "I will atone for my failures. Come! Omoikane!"

The being that appeared was rather unwholesome – a huge floating brain with purple, pupil-less eyes, and with countless 'tentacles' protruding from underneath the 'body', some of which had more eyes attached.

"...Nice Personas, actually." Kei said. "Let's see how well you're improved."

"Oh, we WILL!" Hisaya said. The three of them charged into battle, unaware of the chaos that was about to erupt from inside the club.

**|Inside Club Kaleidoscope|18:00 pm|**

While the girls had been dancing, Natsumi couldn't get into it at all. She was still struggling to understand any of what had just happened. Even worse, there was a constant pounding pain in her head, and it wouldn't go away, no matter how many drinks Asami summoned.

_This isn't making sense. How exactly did we make it into this club? Even the air feels weird. I hate this club. I want to go home. Asami, please, tell me what's going on..._

"Woo!" Asami said, finishing the last song by doing a somersault. "Keiya, get up here and dance!"

"And be forced to take countless selfies?" Keiya said, rolling his eyes. "I think I'll preserve my dignity. Besides, we've been playing music for nearly an hour now. Shouldn't we move onto the main event?"

"Oh...alright. I've been waiting for this day long enough as it is." Asami said. She clicked her fingers, and there was a huge whirring sound beneath their feet.

The two trapdoors opened, and two strange purple cages rose up. Trapped within were two bewildered teenagers. One, Natsumi had never seen before, but from the look of him, she could tell straight away he was a problem. The other was none other than Rokurou, the toughest boy in middle school. Whether or not that reputation still held up in High School, Natsumi didn't know. She'd never mistake that crop of bleached blonde hair, or his angry brown eyes.

"What the fuck are we doing here?" Ryosuke, the other boy, said. His locks were black and curly, and he wore an immaculate grey shirt and black trousers.

"Yeah, and who the hell  _are_  you guys?" Rokurou said. "Hang on...you're Natsumi! Fucking hell, what are you trying to do?"

"I'm not..." Natsumi mumbled, terrified. She ran behind Asami, hands covering her mouth.

"Don't you dare try to scare her! She's my friend!" Asami said, stomping the ground. "You're in  _our_ world now, remember. But we'll get to you in just a second. Ryosuke Kinoshita, we meet again. How long has it been...?"

"Fuck you, lady! Get us out of here, or I'll call the police!" Ryosuke said, desperately trying to break through the bars.

"Problem is, you're not in the 'real' world. Your phones aren't going to be able to reach any emergency services. Ironic, considering your peril." Keiya said. "Let me ask you a question. Did you honestly expect you could murder three young girls, with no consequences whatsoever?"

"What? I never killed anybody!" Ryosuke shouted.

Asami, apoplectic, pressed a button on her phone. The giant display from before was now displaying images of Asami's friend late friends. The boys looked around, and while Rokurou simply scoffed in frustration at his situation, Ryosuke seemed shocked.

"Those... _those_  girls?!" Ryosuke said.

"Remember them now?" Asami said. "They were the best friends I ever knew. We fought a lot, but that's what friends do. You tore them all from me, Ryosuke. You wouldn't leave them alone. You hounded them, bullied them, made them afraid to even leave the house! And now they're all gone. They died, and all because of you!"

"You escaped punishment due to family connections. Despicable, and cowardly. Your father must be truly repugnant to allow you to continue existing, let alone allow you to live in his house." Keiya said. "Your conscience, if it even exists, must be completely beyond all hope."

"That's why we've set all of this up." Asami said. "I've decided to take matters into our own hands! Nisa Liat showed me the way!"

"Nisa Liat! Pleroma Princess!" The girls said, in a dream-like state of delight.

"...What?!" Natsumi said. "Nisa Liat? I've heard that name before. Who is she?"

"Yeah, what the hell is a Nisa Liat?" Rokurou said. "And what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?" He tried to kick and punch the cage bars, but only succeeded in hurting his hands and feet. "This is false imprisonment, you know!"

"Natsumi-chan, I wanted to tell you from the start, but I was sworn to secrecy." Asami said, nervously. "This Gnosis allows me to go between our world and a hidden world known as the Theio Kosmos. In that world, there are no humans, only monsters called Shadows. But, if a human makes it to the Theio Kosmos, they can...use a power far greater than anything possible in the normal world, or Akartharto Kosmos."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Natsumi asked, distressed.

"It may be easier to show her, Hamasaki." Keiya said. "You two should sit still for a while. No one here is particularly willing to help free you."

"Yeah!" The brainwashed girls said. "You're never going to escape from Hama-Sama!"

"Here goes." Asami said. She held out her hand – and in it, appeared a large spear-like weapon, or a partisan, that had a light lavender hue to the blade.

"What?! Where did you get that from?" Natsumi said. She shrieked loudly, however, as she felt a savage blue wind around her. It circled around Asami, who shut her eyes in deep concentration.

"This is all part of my power. The strength to bring justice to my friends. And you, Natsumi-chan." Asami said. "Words can't get through to these mindless thugs. We're not going to become murderers like them, though. Instead, we're going to hurt them straight where it hurts, so they never stop hurting. Only then will they understand what it's like to be me. Come forth!  **Kaihime**!"

Within the blue smoke was a strong force. There was a muscular woman clad in vivid green armour, her black hair accented with pink tips. Her fuchsia eyes twinkled. In her hand was a large spear with a corrugated blade, ready for warfare. And the spear seemed to have flames and sparks whirling around it.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Kaihime, whose beauty is only surpassed by my boundless courage.**

"Kaihime?!" Natsumi asked. Now, she was terrified. "This thing, can it..."

"Thing? Hardly a poetic term..." Keiya said, amused. "This being is called a Persona, Natsumi. And Asami is far from the only one who can conjure one."

"Is that true...?" Natsumi asked.

"Yes, it is. Nisa Liat gave me this Gnosis a long time ago." Asami said. "With it, I can protect myself in this world. Not only that, I can help shape it. Keiya can summon one, of course. His is called Sin. Not after the Biblical seven deadly sins, but some kind of moon god."

Natsumi gasped. So this is what Asami had truly been up to. Bythos weren't just some odd cult that had propped up. They were a group capable of strange powers. Did this mean she was in danger?

"You've got to be kidding me! This is real, isn't it?!" Rokurou screamed. "Do something, you dumbass!"

"Dude, I'm trying! I can't get out of this damn thing either!" Ryosuke said. "Dammit, you guys are seriously going to kill us with that thing?"

Asami shook her head. "I already told you. I don't want to kill you the same way you killed my friends. That's not justice. That just gives you an easy way out. The same goes for you, Rokurou."

"What's going to happen to us?!" Rokurou shouted, eyes wide with terror.

"I'm not sure words will do it justice. Not like you have any idea what the word 'justice'  _means_ , of course." Asami said. She turned to Keiya, who nodded. "It looks like everything's already been set up. I just need Kaihime to channel it properly. Go!"

The Persona twirled her spear, and suddenly bizarre looking black tentacle-like tubes attached to the cages, and began pulsing with eerie purple energy. Both of the boys became shrouded with a dark red aura, and fell to their knees, screaming with pain.

Natsumi couldn't believe what she was seeing. Was this real? Was Asami seriously torturing them with some sort of dark power?

"Hang on! Isn't this enough?" Natsumi asked.

"Not even close." Asami said. "This is what you wanted too, after all. Rokurou and Ryosuke will never be the same again...but the city will be better off this way."

Finally, it stopped. While the tentacles stayed in place, the influx of energy ceased, and there was a faint red fog lingering around the stage. The two boys finally got up, their eyes completely blank. They stared blankly, and their breathing was slow and quiet.

"So, how do you feel after all of that?" Keiya said. "You were subjugated to the sheer pain and sorrow that you both inflicted on other people. Right down to your core. Quite frankly, I doubt it will ever go away."

"I'm pathetic. I don't deserve to live." Rokurou said, without a hint of emotion in his voice. "I shouldn't even have been born..."

"I'm a murderer...I killed those girls...and I laughed about it..." Ryosuke said, equally toneless.

"This..." Natsumi said.

"Hail Hama-Sama!" The throng of girls screamed.

"There you have it. We can use this power, combined with the energies that compose this world, to finally reap vengeance that we deserve." Asami said. "Girls, thanks for watching. It's been a real blast. As a reward, you'll all get these!"

There was another flash, as in each of the girl's hands, a red Gnosis appeared. One appeared in Natsumi's hand as well, but while nothing happened for the other attendees, hers started to pulsate, flash, and then change colour – to black.

"Whoa!" Natsumi said, gazing at her own Gnosis. "It's just like Masato's! Then...he's got a Persona too!"

"...Yes, he does. And not just him. Shintaro, Kohaku, and that Kei girl, they all share the same power." Asami said. "But they're not on our side. They're siding against us. You'll help change their minds, won't you? Look what we were able to do to Rokurou. It's what he deserves. Shintaro will thank us!"

_Are you sure about that? Rokurou has become a vegetable! And my brother's got the same kind of power? Surely he's not done anything this insane. No, he can't have -_

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. A hole burst in the ceiling, and out came a black smoke. It phased into one set of the tentacles, the one leading to Rokurou, and caused them to start pulsing again.

"What's this?!" Natsumi yelled. "What else can you do to him?"

"I haven't done anything!" Asami said, flustered. "Keiya, what -"

"It's nothing to do with me, either." Keiya said, flatly. "Is it a byproduct of the energy with accumulated? None of the previous experiments had any of this."

"Nothingness..." Rokurou said, absolutely listless. "I am...zero. Emptiness. Take my body. I have no more will. Thus, I have no more use in this world..."

"Who is he talking to?" Keiya asked. "...Surely, he can't be-"

"I think it is!" Asami said. "This...isn't good! We've got to -"

There was a massive quake, as the building began to creak and shake. Natsumi fell to the ground, She looked up, and saw the tentacles break apart, dissolving into dark mist. Left behind was cage, which suddenly began glowing a bright red colour. Its captive was silent, while the prisoner in the other cage seemed to develop a small grin.

_Huh? Ryosuke, what are you doing?_

"Asami!" Keiya said. "I'm sending them back to Hanashima now!"

He pressed an icon on his phone, but nothing seemed to happen. Alarmed, he grabbed Asami's arm, but not before she helped Natsumi back on her feet. They tried to run past the brainwashed girls, but they heard a massive blast that cut off all the lights, leaving a massive red glow in the back.

"No!" Keiya said, turning around. The stage was completely wrecked, and the cages had disappeared entirely. Ryosuke was laughing like crazy, shrouded in dark energy, while Rokurou had a peculiar entity floating above his head. It was a transparent humanoid with a twisted mask on its head.

"This can't be happening!" Asami wailed.

" **Assimilation complete. New host drastically inferior to previous body. Sustenance minimal. Destruction of human subjects will require a new host almost immediately. Will expend the lifeform's remaining willpower."**

The creature formed a strange ball of energy, and fired it forward towards Natsumi. Asami, screaming, pushed her out of the way – and the energy blast went straight towards the front door...

**|Club Kaleidoscope – Front Doors|18:30 pm|**

"That's enough!" Hisaya shouted, frustrated. "Maeiha!"

A cursed volley of energy struck the team, who were weary from the fight. Shintaro glared at her, aggravated. Neither team seemed to have the edge at the moment, even though they had four members and the Claret Squad only had three.

"No way!" Shintaro said. "Jet Flash!"

With a quick blast of wind, plus a teleportation, Shintaro was right behind Hisaya. His blade slashed her painfully, and she fell briefly – only to swipe at him with her knives.

"Zio!" Masato shouted. Camulus sent a bolt of lighting at Ryosei, shocking him sharpy. However, he got hit in the face by Fumihiro's strong fists.

"Should pay more attention, kid!" He said, snarling. Gozuki, while not particularly wise, had some sheer strength. With a mighty Lunge, he hit Masto with his club.

"Petal Waltz!"

Kei sent petals flying all over the battlefield, delivered beautifully by Ostara. Their sharpness cut deep through the Claret Squad, giving Kohaku plenty of time to heal with Media.

"Thanks, Kohaku-chan." Shintaro said.

"Damn you!" Ryosei said. "Mapsi!"

Appropriately for a brain-like Persona, Omoikane used his mind to bombard its enemies with psychic blasts. Shintaro shuddered, stumbling – his sword just missing Hisaya's face.

"You're not so tough now, are you?" Hisaya said, laughing.

"Let's finish them all with one hit!" Fumihiro said.

"Yes. Our combined energy should be enough to establish our superiority." Ryosei said.

"Alright. On my mark! Lilim, use your -"

Before the Claret Squad could complete their unison, however, there was a sound of screaming from Kaleidoscope. The doors leading to the club started to shake, until they were blasted off the hinges and crashed onto the road with a heavy thud. Immediately afterwards, hordes of young girls ran outside screaming, somehow not noticing the group. They seemed to be fading away shortly afterwards, too.

_Huh? Are they returning to the Akartharto Kosmos?_

"What the hell just happened?!" Hisaya screamed.

"Damn..." Fumihiro said. "They're going to blame that on us, aren't they?"

"Natsumi!" Masato yelled. He shoved past the Claret Squad, and ran further into the chaos in the wrecked club. Shintaro, Kei and Kohaku followed, worried.

"...We should go too." Ryosei said. "Our dear Admins may need our help."

The Claret Squad ran inside – unprepared for what they were about to see.

**|Club Kaleidoscope|18:40 pm|**

Natsumi slowly got up to her feet. She, Keiya and Asami were the only ones left in the club, which looked as if a bomb had hit it. On the stage was Ryosuke, still laughing insanely, and the beast which had aimed its attack at them.

" **Energy levels absent. Abandoning host."**

The being disappeared, and a black fog left the body of Rokurou – who fell over unconscious. Just then, there was a rush of footsteps – and Natsumi's face lit up. Running straight towards her was her brother.

"Natsumi!" Masato screamed, grabbing her tightly in his arms. "...Are you alright?"

"I...I'm fine, now that you're here." Natsumi said, relieved.

"Thank goodness..." Kohaku said.

"When we heard you were here, we came running for you." Shintaro said.

"...Kohaku? Shintaro?!" Natsumi said, amazed. "Why are all of you together?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise..." Masato said, smirking. "But the three of us are sort of a team again."

Natsumi, tears dripping from her eyes, buried her head into Masato's chest. With all the fear and dread she had felt this evening, she finally felt safe now that he was here. And her old friends were there too.

"Thank you so much..." Natsumi said. "Please, let's go back home..."

"What the fuck?!"

The Claret Squad had arrived, and were staring at the dark mist floating around Rokurou's body. Asami and Keiya grimaced, and glared at their underlings.

"We told you never to let anyone else inside!" Keiya shouted.

"It's a bit hard to do that when the doors get blown off!" Fumihiro snapped. "Stop blaming us for everything!"

"We were keeping them at bay. We probably would have defeated them if we weren't interrupted. Weren't you supposed to be keeping everything under control?" Ryosei asked.

"How dare you?!" Asami shouted, slapping him hard across the face. "Taking control of your unit was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. You're a disgrace to Bythos!"

"So you're really an Aeon Administrator..." Masato said, darkly. "And you really put my sister in danger."

"...I didn't mean any of this!" Asami shouted.

"Oh yeah?!" Masato said. "You were trying to get her to join you, right? No way that'll happen!"

"Silence, Masato Yoshinaga." Keiya said. "The Gnosis I gave you should have killed you, not let you survive."

Masato gasped. "So you're the one who's been trying to kill me?!"

"That's right. I was able to capture EX-NIHILO and download it to your Gnosis. It should have drained you as a host and left you brain dead – which is exactly what has happened to Rokurou over there."

"...That's him, alright." Kohaku said. "We were too late..."

"Damn!" Shintaro said. "There was so much I wanted to say to him. But now he can't even speak. He doesn't even know I'm there anymore."

"What reason do you have for killing Masato?!" Natsumi shouted.

"I'm tired of being bombarded with questions." Keiya said. "Asami. We can take them all out right here, right now."

"...Fine." Asami said. "Hisaya – huh? What are you doing?! Get back here!"

Hisaya stepped forward, transfixed at the laughing young man on the stage.

"...Ryosuke?" Hisaya uttered.

"What is going on?" Shintaro asked.

"Damn." Masato said. "Things are really messed up tonight."

"That boy..." Natsumi said. "His name is Ryosuke Kinoshita. He bullied three of Asami's friends so much, they killed themselves."

"Hehehehe..." Ryosuke said. "Hisaya already knows who I am, don't you?"

"Yes. Of course. You were my only friend back when we were young." Hisaya said. "The only one I could count on. My family were a joke. No one else would even talk to me. You were always there for me..." Hisaya said. She saw his wild expression, however, and shuddered. "...What have Bythos done to you? They never told me  _you_  were going under Grief Factor too!"

"Ha...!" Ryosuke laughed, somewhat manically. "I'm nothing like that dumbass over there. Sure, they tried to fill me with the same energy - but rather than lose myself to it, I've taken over it completely!"

"What?!" Asami shouted. "But..."

"I'm good at playing along." Ryosuke said. He clicked his fingers, as the cage around him shattered. "But this human body isn't any good anymore. I need something even better. Thanks to all the energy I was given, I've learned of a place where I can get even more power and transform. These Shadows I've heard about - I'm going to become the best one ever!"

"You must be joking. He's going to use Shadow Compression on himself?!" Keiya said.

"That's right! But this shitty club isn't any good anymore. The big fortress on the island should be good. I'm going to head there right now! This is the world I can finally be myself, where no one tries to tie me down...it's brilliant! I'll play here forever, and fuck up the human world from my new castle!"

With a dark laugh, Ryosuke vanished into a pillar of bright red energy – it sent the three Claret Squad members flying in different directions, and set off another earthquake. Hisaya laid just before the steps leading to the stage, while the two boys were stuck in the wreckage of the previous blast.

"This isn't good!" Keiya said. "We've got to get to the Fortess. Now!"

"But these guys -"

"They can wait, Asami! But if Ryosuke gets the Cognition Core, Mizuho is finished!" Keiya snapped. Reluctantly, they teleported out of the club, leaving Kei's team alone.

"Asami...why?!" Natsumi said.

"We've got to get to that Fortress as well." Shintaro said. "The only question is, how?"

Before the team could do anything, however, Natsumi suddenly doubled over in pain, as a red 'electricity' seemed to surround her.

"Argh!" She screamed. "Help me...it hurts...something's inside me...!"

"What?!" Masato said. "No...not this thing again!"

There was a great flash of red light, and appearing out of the darkness was a familiar form. The bizarre, demonic being that seemed to be both Shadow and Persona. EX-NIHILO had returned, and it had taken a liking to his previous host's sister.

" **Initializating. Host 'Natsumi Yoshinaga' very similar to Host No. 01. Plentiful energy to maintain form. Beginning BATTLE 02 procedure. Annihilation of human subjects must be fulfilled."**

The EX-NIHILO summoned its sword in much the same manner, and stood in the way of the four Persona users. It was determined this time to fulfil its mission, no matter how fiercely Masato fought to protect his sister.

Yet soon it would be the sister's turn to protect him.


	15. Raging Flames, Shooting Stars

**|Club Kaleidoscope|18:51 pm|**

To see this being again sent a shiver down Shintaro's spine. Now it was tormenting another familiar face from his past. Whether or not this was the same exact being was unclear, but regardless of that enigma, the only choice was to quickly bring down this demon and rescue Natsumi.

"You fucking bastard!" Masato yelled. "You should have stayed dead!"

"I don't understand this at all. It seems to be the same entity as before..." Kei said, checking her Gnosis. "But it seems slightly different. Just a feeling I get. Be on guard."

"Yes. It looks like we'll have to fight it again." Shintaro said. "Natsumi, don't worry! We'll save you!"

"He's right. I won't let you die, I promise!" Kohaku said.

"Kohaku, please...be...careful!" Natsumi pleaded. "This thing's strong..."

"I know. But so are we!" Kei shouted. "Come! Nekomata!"

_Another new Persona? Man, I wish we could see this Velvet Room app she can use. But maybe Igor and Lavenza only talk to people with the Wild Card. Shame..._

Emerging from Kei and her Gnosis was a cat-like humanoid girl. With a powerful Dual Scratch, she struck the EX-NIHILO, spinning it into Shintaro's path. He struck with his own blade, drawing blood, and followed up with a Garu.

"Yes! Well done, Ogma!" Shintaro cheered.

"Airmid!" Kohaku beckoned. Her faithful Persona attacked with Magna, causing some earthbound damage. Yet the EX-NIHILO had other ideas. It struck Kohaku violent with his blade, which seemed larger than before. Before she could recover, it followed up with a fiery Maragi.

"Ow!" Masato cried. "Damn arsonist!"

"Twisted fire starter, huh? C'mon! Give him hell!" Shintaro cheered, fist in the air.

"Oh, this thing's going there, and he's gonna stay there too! Camulus!" Masato, with the power of his Persona, sent down the electrifying Zio. Not feeling particularly merciful, he smashed the monster's face with his bat, with murderous intent.

"Marvellous, Masato-kun!" Kei said. "Now, Nekomata! Frei!"

The feline Persona gathered her atomic power, and blasted the EX-NIHILO with it – at the same time Kei slashed the fearsome entity with her katana.

"Not so talkative anymore, huh?" Kei said. "All your words are empty, anyway. No wonder you're basically called nothingness!"

"You actually looked up what Ex Nihilo meant?" Masato asked.

"Yeah..." Kei said. "I thought it'd help me understand where this thing came from. But it didn't really get me anywhere."

"Now isn't the time to study its etymology!" Shintaro cried. "This thing could do with being a little less thick-skinned. Rakunda!"

Ogma's spell soon diminished the EX-NIHILO's defences, which seemed to visibly irritate it. Shintaro had to roll out of the way of its blade, but he couldn't dodge it forever. The Shadow transformed his sword into the Nullity Saber, and swung it hard at the studious boy.

"ARGH!" Shintaro cried.

"No! Taro-kun!" Kohaku cried. "...Media! Now!"

Strong healing energy emitted from the benevolent Airmid, replenishing everyone's stamina. The other three nodded in gratitude, and Masato stared down his arch-enemy.

"Natsumi's still suffering. As long as you possess her and her Gnosis, that makes you and me mortal enemies." Masato said, glaring at the Shadow with undying hatred. "I'm not the scared little kid you met last time. You're about to realise just what happens when you try to kill one of my family!"

Camulus appeared, and held out his palm. Sparks of electricity appeared, forming an Electroball. It floated in mid-air, and the Persona took a step back. With great force, he swung his club, sending the ball straight into the monster's chest – creating a massive explosion of electricity.

"That was incredible!" Shintaro said, in awe.

"You didn't want to make a pun?" Kohaku asked.

"Hiroyuki already did one this evening." Shintaro said, shuddering.

"Shintaro, you still okay to fight?" Masato asked.

"Y-Yeah, I think so." Shintaro said. He looked to Natsumi, whose power was still being siphoned by her tormentor. "Ogma! Jet Flash!"

With a sharp gust of wind, the EX-NIHILO was sent crashing into a wall. Immediately afterwards, Shintaro appeared right in front of it, and slashed it hard across the chest. Before it could strike back, Shintaro managed to backflip away, landing gracefully next to Kei.

"Wow, you're more athletic than I thought." Kei said, impressed.

"I didn't even know I could do that!" Shintaro said, full of exhilaration. "Having this Persona has given me some awesome skills!"

"Yeah. Next thing you know, you'll be beating me at baseball." Masato said, smirking. "I gotta keep up with you, huh? Sukukaja!"

His agility soared thanks to Camulus' enhancement – and with great agility, he smashed the EX-NIHILO with his bat again, causing dark red 'bruises'. Yet, with the energy it was draining from Natsumi, those bruises healed up quickly...

"Damn!" Kei said. "This thing's recovery is annoying! Isn't there some way we can stop it!?"

"We just have to keep attacking." Shintaro said. "I don't know what else we can do."

"Shigeru's probably on his way as we speak. We should endure this thing until he and the others arrive!" Kohaku said.

"Yeah, we can handle that – oh shit!"

Masato, while normally fast, couldn't quite dodge the Ex Nihilo the Persona had launched. It not only hit him, it crashed into a wall, near a still-unconscious Ryosei. Kohaku gasped – she looked at the pillar near him, and it was swaying unsteadily, about to fall over the booth he was sprawled out on.

"No! Ryosei!"

Ryosei, opening his eyes, looked up. Groggy, he took in his surroundings, and gasped. He tried to move, but the pain in his legs was too much.

"Shit...I can't even get up! What the hell happened...?" Ryosei said, coughing. "Guys...where are you? Don't leave me here!"

"Hang on!" Kohaku shouted. "I'll get you out of -"

She began to run over, but it was too late. The pillar fell down in a cloud of dust and debris, and caused part of the ceiling to collapse. Before long, nothing of Ryosei could even be seen, only the remnants of the booth and a dense pile of rubble. His Gnosis, however, lay there, broken into pieces.

" **Recording death of 'Claret Squad' member Ryosei Mizushima."**

**|Hanashima Fortress|18:59 pm|**

The island that had appeared in this Kosmos was rather psychedelic, with an eerie purple fog covering the toxic waves. This 'water' had been deliberately poisoned to prevent any from entering. Yet somehow, the boy who had once been Ryosuke was on the cusp of transforming here. Asami and Keiya reached the stone path on the sandy island, and stared ahead at the pink fortress – the same colour as the beautiful flowers in the parking lot.

"He's definitely here." Keiya said, anxious. "Perhaps he's already changed form. Be prepared for anything."

"I know. I'm glad you're here with me." Asami said, trying to ease her tension.

He stepped forward, and the large wooden doors opened. The two of them ran through the fortress, the internals of which no longer resembled any hospital. The courtyard in the middle of the fortress was most likely where Ryosuke was – and there, indeed, he was there, standing in front of a strange crystalline artefact. It was white, and clear, but every day since it had first appeared, it had been growing brighter.

"Ryosuke!" Asami screamed, running ahead. "Get the hell away from there!"

"Should have known you'd come." Ryosuke said, his eyes now completely a solid red. Keiya shuddered at the sight. The bully's veins were pulsing with dark energy beneath his skin, which was struggling to contain his newfound power. "This is... **fun, isn't it? So much power. I feel like I could kill anything now! All I ever wanted was to be free to do whatever the hell I wanted, and if someone got hurt, I didn't care! You thought you'd teach me a lesson tonight? Well, too bad! Now Rokurou is brain dead, and I'm finally able to be true to myself!"**

Asami gulped. This hadn't been the plan at all. All she wanted was to make these two boys realise just how awful their actions had been. Now, Ryosuke was on the verge of becoming something a pure abomination. His humanity was rapidly vanishing, finally giving way to the true monster that he appeared to be inside.

"How pathetic. What exactly do you have planned for your new power?" Keiya asked coldly, unimpressed.

" **That's the point! There _are_  no plans anymore! I've learned things from the amount of Shadows you tried to infect me with. This 'Compression' thing? Turning a human being into a Shadow? That stupid old bitch you turned into Nox was such a lame prototype. This time, I'm doing this of my own free will! Time to finally get rid of this facade!"**

Ryosuke laughed, his voice echoing around the fortress walls with a cruel dissonance. It was then that his entire body became enveloped with strange black flames, and soon all one could see was his red eyes, that no longer blinked.

"Bastard! What the hell are you turning into?!" Asami demanded, aghast.

"Whatever grotesque form he chooses to manifest in, we'll vanquish it." Keiya said, determined.

"Yeah. He'll regret the day he tried to mess with me and the girls." Asami said. "I wanted him to suffer for the rest of his life, but it looks like we'll have to kill him after all. I'll show him no mercy whatsoever."

"Likewise." Keiya said. A deck of cards appeared in his hand, and he took a step back.

The foreboding black flames disappeared, and what laid before them was a strange dark blue and silver cloak. Yet, this cloak soon began moving as if someone was wearing it. Vibrant blue flames appeared from the sleeves to create forearms, and further created hands that appeared to be made of rocks. Instead of a body or legs, the cloak seemed to contain an endless galaxy of stars. The hood left only the red eyes, barely recognisable as Ryosuke's, as well as skin that was as white as the moon.

" **Yes! This is so much better than my old body! Freedom of the stars, at last! I'll let you in on a little secret. The whole time I was human, I hated being restrained. Too many limitations. You can't do anything without some dumb grown up telling you what to do, or 'that's wrong'. It's suffocating! Being a Shadow is so much better. No one can control me ever again!"**

"Are you out of your mind, Ryosuke?!" Asami shouted. "You'll never be able to go back to the Akartharto Kosmos! Shadows can only exist here!"

" **Like you care what happens to me anyway! What, you think you Bythos guys can boss me around? Think again! I already know that you can't turn Shadows like me into Personas! I'm an Anomaly Shadow, after all. And now that I've evolved, the name Ryosuke doesn't suit me anymore. How about Astraeus, the Ancient Astronomer? After all, even the stars are mine to rule now!"**

"...I'm sure I don't need to say this, but any semblance of sanity has thoroughly dissolved." Keiya said. "Asami. Let's put an end to him. People like him have ruined too many lives."

"Like that guy who blacklisted you?" Asami asked.

"It's too late to turn back the clock, and lead the life I wished for above all else." Keiya said, gazing at the sky. "But when we became Aeon Administrators on that day, we made an oath to reap justice for those who wronged us, and our loved ones."

"That's right. For my friends, and Kazuko!" Asami said. "We'll destroy Astraeus! And finally make the Cognition Core ours! Kaihime!"

"Sin, appear!" Keiya cried.

Alongside Asami's Persona, a much darker one in colouration appeared, yet it had a milky-white glow. It was wearing a shiny black suit, with pointed shoes that had crescent moon symbols all over them. It also had pure white gloves, and its arms were crossed in indignation. Its face had skin white as snow, and had a crescent moon mask covering the right side. Its black hair was long, silken and flowing to the ground, with bangs covering some of the forehead.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy heart, I cometh. I art Sin, he who leads the ignoble to lunacy and destruction.**

Astraeus chuckled loudly to itself, finally able to revel in how horrid its heart was. It clicked its fingers, and out of nowhere came four different planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, the latter two with their respective moons. While Earth simply had the one, Mars had the twin moons Phobos and Deimos.

" **This is going to be fun! Your moon power against mine! Don't disappoint me, guys! For the first time, I can fight without holding anything back. My life is over, thanks to you two. But this new form is even better! I can't die as long as I don't become weak! Screw everyone back in the stupid real world! I'll rule over all the Shadows!"**

Keiya and Asami rushed forward, wading into the battlefield.

**|Club Kaleidoscope|19:11 pm|**

"Oh my god!" Kohaku shouted, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she was shaking. "He's..."

"I can't believe what we just saw." Shintaro said, stunned. "There's no way he could have survived that, is there?"

"No, there's simply no way. But it's...so horrible..." Kei said, averting her eyes from the sight. She wiped away tears from her eyes. Perhaps she felt the same regret Shintaro had in his heart.

"You got that right. He didn't deserve that..." Masato said, faltering. However, he readied his weapon again. "...Guys. We've got to keep fighting!"

"What?!" Shintaro said. "But Ryosei just -"

"I know!" Masato shouted. "EX-NIHILO's still not dead! If we don't fight back, my sister could die!"

"He's right. We must not fail to save Natsumi." Kei said, forcefully. "Please! Jack Frost!"

The merry ice fairy appeared, twirling on its tip toes, and pointed up in the air – signalling the hee-herald of Bufu. The cold ice seemed to resonate painfully around the monster, and it actually seemed to freeze in place. In doing so, Natsumi managed to fight back slightly, and stood up, no longer holding her head with her hands.

"Guys..." Natsumi said, wearily. "You're...all hurt..."

"Natsumi!" Masato said. "We'll take care of this. We beat him once before, and we're going to do it again!"

"Kohaku...I know you're upset." Kei said, her hand on Kohaku's shoulder. "But right now, saving Natsumi is all we can do. We have to win this quickly, and prevent the same happening to Fumihiro and Hisaya."

"You're right. I understand..." Kohaku said, wiping away her tears. "Then...Clocha Ghlais!"

Airmid's healing stone appeared, hitting EX-NIHILO with full force. Its healing force scattered across the room, restoring the others and numbing their pain.

"Thank you, Haku-chan." Shintaro said. "Come on, let's end this! Garu!"

The gusts of wind hit the monster, actually sending it off the stage. Kei attacked with her katana, finishing with a jump attack, and quickly switched back to Ostara. The Persona, disgusted to be in the presence of such an opponent, showed no mercy, and danced a Petal Waltz. Sharp petals struck through the Shadow, leaving it at the mercy of Masato.

"Time to die!" Masato yelled. "

Wildly, it began swinging its sword. While it didn't manage to hit any of its intended targets, it did manage to hit a nearby pillar...next to a weary Fumihiro.

"Huh?" He said. He stood up, in pain, and looked around. "My head's killing me. What the fuck just happened?"

"Fumihiro!" Shintaro said. "Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"The hell are you talking about – huh?! Ryosei?!" Fumihiro said, looking over at where his friend had been. The broken Gnosis showed no signs of activity. "That's it, I'm gonna kill that damn thing!"

"Wait! Leave that Shadow to us. You should take Hisaya and get out of here!" Kei shouted.

"I don't take orders from you, okay?! Shut up!" Fumihiro shouted, cracking his knuckles. "From now on, I'm following my own way!" He ran forward, despite his injuries, and began pummelling the EX-NIHILO with as many punches as he could. Yet these seemed to pale in comparison to the previous attacks the Shadow had been inflicted with – not that it stopped the Bythos thug.

" **New target drastically inferior to other four. Can eradicate with ease."**

"Eradicate yourself, you fucking dickhead!" Fumihiro shouted, tearful. "That guy was one of my only real friends, you know that?! Sure, he was a spoiled brat, but he didn't judge me like everyone else in my life!"

_I didn't realise these guys cared about each other that much..._

" **Target is attempting to induce Sleep by blathering. Must eradicate now."**

"No you fucking won't!" Fumihiro screamed. "Get wrecked! Gozuki, get him – argh!"

Gozuki appeared, but before it could attack, its master was swung painfully into the left wall. Fumihiro fell with a heavy thud onto the ground, unconscious, and Gozuki vanished. His Gnosis went dead, and the EX-NIHILO seemed satisfied.

"No..." Kohaku said. "Not again!"

"Let's hurry -"

Before Kei could reach, however, the pillar gave way – causing the ceiling around the table to collapse. Once it was over, all that could be seen was the wreckage, and half of the broken Gnosis. A faint image of Gozuki appeared, only for it to roar and vanish.

" **Recording death of 'Claret Squad' member Fumihiro Nishimura."**

**|Hanashima Fortress – Courtyard|19:25 pm|**

"Kaihime!" Asami cried. A powerful lightning bolt, Zionga, came hurtling down upon Astraeus, causing his body to flash due to the current. It was a step up from Zio, which Asami had only just learned from practice. It consumed more power than Zio, of course, but now appeared to be the right moment to use it.

"Impressive." Keiya said, sincerely. While he was a sarcastic man, despite his gentlemanly appearance, he had always been genuine towards Asami.

"Thanks." Asami said. Astraeus chuckled, and pushed forward with one of his palms – causing a small cluster of stars to strike her. "Ah!"

"No remnant of his organic body remains..." Keiya said. "How sad."

" **You guys really don't pay attention, do ya? I like being this way! It's like...what's that fancy art movement from like centuries ago? Like, the Renaissance? Yeah, well this is mine!"**

"You're more of an eyesore than a masterpiece." Keiya said. "The only 'collection' you belong in is a crematorium! Kouga!"

A bright flash of divine light emanated around the Astraeus, causing it to recoil from both the impact and the luminosity. Keiya smiled - Sin, like Kaihime, had experienced more combat than Kei and the others. It, too, had recently acquired the second stage of the Kouha spells, but if Keiya continued to use it repeatedly, he knew he would run out of steam, and quickly.

" **Nice. Having a Persona must make you feel special. If I had one, maybe I'd stick to my boring human body. ...Actually, nah. This is way more liberating! I'm gonna burn you all right here!"**

Astraeus concentrated, and made the planets orbiting him rotate. Venus appeared, and began to flicker red. It then fired a raging fireball at Asami, sending her backwards. She managed to stay on her feet, but the pain of the flames was agonising.

"You're pure evil!" Asami shouted. "You're pretty talkative now that you've gotten some new power. So tell me. Why the hell did you harass my friends so much? Did you even care when they died?!"

" **One question at a time, you whiny bitch! Fine. Because I was bored. They annoyed me, okay? I wanted to see how easy it was to break humans. Did I care? Well, I was worried in case anything happened to me, but I just lied to my dad. He's pretty naïve for a policeman. Not that I need him to get me out of trouble anymore!"**

"...This is disgusting." Keiya said, furious. He stared at the tearful Asami, and put a hand on her shoulder. "But your sociopathic existence ends here. Sin! Lunar Ace!"

Sin appeared, and clicked his fingers. Out of the ground emerged four blank cards, with a deep blue backing. They then faced forward, revealing the four aces. Before long, they were shuffled, and Sin picked one. He selected Spades, and waited patiently.

Astraeus was about to speak, however, a giant blade made out of moonstone appeared out of nowhere and cleaved through him.

" **Bastard! You think you're so tough, don't you?"** Astraeus screamed.

"I don't need words to assert my superiority over you. My Persona shall put an end to your misguided soul..." Keiya said, still full of anger.

"Keiya..." Asami said. "You're so amazing..."

"No..." Keiya said. "I'm still not strong enough to fulfil my destiny. We both have a long way to go."

"Yeah, I know." Asami said, wiping away her tears. She stabbed at the Shadow with her spear, while Keiya began flinging his cards – almost at the speed of bullets. "Then here I go! Shockwave Spear!"

Kaihime raised her weapon high in the air, aiming directly at the sky. A bolt of lightning struck the spear hand, causing it to overflow with electricity. She thrust forward into Astraeus's heart, causing a huge explosion that sent sparks flying all over the fortress.

" **When will you guys just give up? You can't beat me! No one messes with me anymore!"** Astraeus shouted.  **"I'll kill you all! All nine of you! Then that Princess..."**

The next planet the Astronomer wished to use appeared to be Mercury, flashing yellow. It send revolving bolts of fierce lightning, powerfully electrocuting Keiya – yet Asami bore the brunt of the attack better.

"Was that supposed to be painful?" Asami asked, shrugging. "Come on, with all that knowledge you gathered, didn't you learn that I'm hard to shock?"

" **Well, it certainly took your friend by surprise!"** Astraeus said, cackling. He flung more stars at the two, but Keiya managed to jump out of harm's way.

"I'm not doing too well..." Keiya said. "...Sin! Lunacy!"

Sin emerged, and held up his hands towards the sky, as if he was able to manouever it. For a split second, the sky darkened, revealing the stars and the moon. It glittered, and sent down a strange white dust, which was absorbed into Keiya's body. He looked less peaky than he did before, and began hurling his cards – faster than the blink of an eye. Even without a Persona, he had incredible skills dealing cards, but the Theio Kosmos had allowed him to weaponise this – to lethal effect, he had discovered.

"I wish I knew healing magic myself..." Asami said, disappointed in herself.

"It's fine. You should focus on what you do know, or rather, be who you are." Keiya said. "...A wise man told me that once, before my first performance on the stage."

" **You were an actor? Wow, you must have really sucked..."**

"...At least I had a career." Keiya said, rolling his eyes.

"There's no point trying to talk to him. Even if he was still human, he'd never be a good person." Asami said. "I didn't want to kill you, Ryosuke – no, Astraeus. But, it looks like I don't have a choice anymore. Lancer!"

Kaihime somersaulted into the atmosphere, and impaled the Astronomer three times, each one more vicious than the last. It seemed to affect his resilience too, and Asami's Gnosis marked a decease in defence.

"Yes!" Asami said. "You haven't got a prayer!"

" **I don't need to pray to anymore, you dumb bitch! I'm the one everybody will be praying _to_! Shadows, humans, whatever the hell appears in the Theio Kosmos, all of them will be under my control! Get used to it!"**

Astraeus switched to the planet Earth, with its moon orbiting it. Both celestial bodies attacked at once – the Earth sent meteors at Keiya, hurtling towards him at frightening speed. Not willing to waste the Earth's satellite, he made it twinkle, causing a flash of hard light to pulse at Asami, making her stumble.

"Argh..." Asami cried. "This is taking too long!"

"We just have to make sure we're able to seize the Cognition Core. After all, it's due to appear any night. A battle like this is bound to make it emerge!" Keiya said.

" **You're not gonna be able to take it when you're spread across this place in pieces! Maybe we can paint this place red with your blood? It'll look way better than that stupid pink colour. Who chose it, anyway?"**

"You should know, Ryosuke. It comes from the flowers of Mizuho. The reason they named the hospital 'Hanashima'." Asami said. "They're beautiful flowers...I even laid them at...the funeral...all three funerals..."

"Asami! Don't lose focus. We have to destroy the Astronomer. Trying to force him to repent simply won't work anymore." Keiya said.

"I know, I know..." Asami said. "Maybe some people can change. Like Masato. But for this bastard, I won't ever forgive him! Tarunda!"

The Astronomer swore in frustration as his power was diminished. Even more infuritating for him was the force of Keiya's Kouga, a blessing of sorts from Sin.

"Well, he won't be able to harm us as much..." Keiya said.

" **Think again! I'm gonna tear you to shreds! Wonder if your fan club will cry when they learn I've eviscerated you? That'll be fun...!"**

Mars took the front of the planets, and Phobos and Deimos aligned themselves as well. A chilling icy mist came from the Red planet, chilling both Asami & Keiya to the bone. Then, both moons picked a target, and collided with them, causing a cloud of dust around them. Asami, to her anger, felt sluggish. The particles from the moons had nasty side effects, it seemed.

"...We're still going to win. I know it!" She said, yet her voice wavered. None of the Shadows she had fought before were this strong. Were two Aeon admins not enough?

Even so, she had to fight as hard as she could, so that Mizuho wouldn't fall into the hands of a man who had been a monstrous human – and was now just a monster.

**|Club Kaleidoscope|19:30 pm|**

"Fumihiro!" Kohaku cried, in abject horror. "No... _No_!"

"This can't be happening...!" Shintaro said. "Ah! Damn!"

He rolled out of the way of the Shadow's blade, and swung back. Angry, he stabbed forward as many times as he could, and Masato was preparing to follow up with a huge strike.

"Camulus. This thing's killed two people already. You're not going to let him kill my sister, are you? Then c'mon! Iron Impact!"

The valiant Persona appeared, and grabbed the EX-NIHILO by the neck once more. With its club, it smashed the Shadow brutally in the face, causing the mask to become even more cracked then before, and spraying its dark blood everywhere. Yet, in the chaos, the monster slashed viciously, hitting Masato hard.

"Oww!" He said, getting onto his knees. "Damn you!"

" **Assignment proving difficult. Will focus on eliminating first host."**

The Shadow was preparing another Nullity Blade, having Charged up and ready to strike. Before the EX-NIHILO could bring down its sword, however, it suddenly recoiled in pain, and it kneeled down, its blade clanging to the floor.

"...Huh?" Masato said. He was quickly restored to health by Kohaku, while Shintaro dragged him out of harm's way. "Thanks. What just happened!"

"I don't know - wait! Look!" Kohaku pointed further back, in shock. Someone had suddenly struck the EX-NIHILO out of nowhere, her knives cutting deep.

"Hisaya?!" Shintaro shouted.

"No time to chat!" Hisaya shouted. "I'm gonna kill this thing! Then I...I know I'll be able to reach Ryosuke! I can save him!"

"Hold on a moment! If you're not careful, you'll..." Kei said, worried.

"Die! Die! Die!" Hisaya screamed, continuing to slash at the monster. Blood seemed to pour from every wound, and as it reached the ground, it seemed to distort and fizz away. She wasn't giving it a single opportunity to counter – she was no longer holding anything back.

" **Assignment far higher in difficulty than anticipated. But will vanquish all targets."**

Gathering a new power, it grabbed its mighty blade, and swung it in a vicious circle, sending everyone flying. While most of the group were able to land on the stage, Hisaya was not so fortunate. Her body slid down the stairs with a nasty thud, and she collapsed into a heap just before the stage. Her Gnosis fell onto the ground, with some rather big cracks in the casing.

"Oh my god! Hisaya!" Shintaro's eyes widened in horror. He had to do something, and fast.

Ogma tried to send Garu after Garu at the EX-NIHILO, but it was undeterred. It stepped forward, and its heavy foot crushed her Gnosis into pieces. A red mist, and a ghostly image of Lilim, appeared briefly, but there was no longer any trace of the phone.

"Ryosuke-kun, I'm sorry...I wasn't strong enough to become a real Persona user..."

She shut her eyes, tearfully, and went motionless, her knives vanishing entirely.

" **Recording death of 'Claret Squad' member 'Hisaya Ueda'. Claret Squad now classified as Terminated. Records provide final success rate of 45%, ranking drastically behind Goldenrod, Azure and Jade Squads."**

"Death!?" Shintaro said.

"Not yet! She's still breathing!" Kohaku said, looking more closely.

The EX-NIHILO took its sword, and held it with both hands, above Hisaya's neck.

"NO!" Kohaku screamed. Airmid was hitting it with Magna, but it didn't seem to be halting the Shadow. "I-I can't let her die too!"

"Neither can I! Zio!" Masato cried. His Camulus aimed his lightning, but EX-NIHILO simply wasn't to be stopped. Kei's Petal Waltz didn't seem to be slowing it down, either.

_No! This can't be happening! Is Hisaya really gonna die -_

"Hey! You over there with the lame mask!"

The group gasped. Natsumi was standing there, her infected Gnosis in her hand. But she was in pain no more. She instead was full of confidence. She wiped away her tears, and glared fiercely at the parasite.

"Must make you feel tough, trampling over girls who can't fight back!" Natsumi yelled. She took her phone in her hand, and despite the glitched screen, she was able to activate one app – one that made a weapon appear, out of thin air. It was a bright pink staff, as used in martial arts. She grabbed it with her left hand, and smirked.

"Natsumi?!" Masato said.

"But what's worse...you tried to kill that poor girl, after what you did to her friends! Then there's you trying to murder my brother! For that, I'll never forgive you!" Natsumi said. "I won't just let you take all my energy and turn me into another Rokurou. Whatever you are, prepare to DIE!"

Angry, the Persona ran forward, ignoring his intended victim. Natsumi no longer was the scared girl she had been this evening. Now, she had the heart and courage to face any challenge. The EX-NIHILO launched its eponymous attack – only for it to be swallowed by the raging blue aurora that Natsumi produced.

" **PERSONA!"**

Masato was in the most awe at what he saw next, yet everyone was entranced. Dressed in a shiny dark pink dress, that seemed almost to be on fire, was a beautiful figure. Her curls of red hair came down to her waist, and they seemed to have whitish tips resembling flickering flames. Her emerald green eyes twinkled, and she smiled mischievously. She twirled around, showing off her legs and the white high heeled boots, and a golden metal bladed ring appeared around her. She grabbed the inner ring with her hands, covered with hardy white gloves.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Brigid, she of the hearth who shall forever capture you in the divine flames!"**

Natsumi looked up at her new Persona – and smiled. She pointed at the EX-NIHILO, and made a throat-slitting gesture. Brigid smirked even more, and leapt up high. She sent the Searing Circle high in the air, and flicked it at the Shadow with her finger. It drove into the creature's mask with a violent sounding crack, and broke it into melting metal pieces. The rest of the creature melted away, leaving a sword that faded into nothingness.

"That's what you get for coming after my family!" Natsumi shouted crossing her arms. While bravely smiling, she fell faint, and stumbled – falling into Masato's arms.

"...Natsumi. Please, tell me you're okay!" Masato said.

She grinned, and nodded, yet seemed utterly exhausted. Kohaku ran over, and with Airmid's help, used Dia to rejuvenate her.

"Still the first aider, aren't you?" Natsumi said, happily.

"I missed taking care of you and your brother, actually." Kohaku said.

"Natsumi. You're still as tough as you were back then. I'm so glad you're alright!" Shintaro said, relieved.

"Of course she's strong. She's my sister, after all." Masato said, proud.

Shintaro, while glad that Natsumi was out of danger, looked back at where Hisaya had been. Her body was still out for the count – and from the painful way she had landed, she might have incurred severe damage.

"She'll be okay, right?" Natsumi asked, gulping.

"I don't know..." Kohaku said. She walked over, and tried to use a new spell she had learned – Recarm. Yet it didn't seem to do anything at all. Hisaya simply lay there, breathing, and heavily wounded. "Come on! Please!"

"Your healing spells only seem to work on those with a Persona, even fake ones..." Kei said, despondent. "We'll need to take her to a real hospital, immediately."

"And you'll need to tell me why you left your post." A voice said from the entrance.

Shintaro gasped. Standing there, furious, was Shigeru, and next to him were a nervous Novalie and a stern Hiroyuki.

"Um, who the hell are you guys?" Natsumi said, hands on her hips. "Cause if you're with Asami and Keiya, you can go to hell! Or better yet, I'll send you there myself!"

"No, Natsu, these people aren't with Bythos!" Masato said. "They're our allies. I swear."

"Oh, so they can use Personas, like me?"

"Like...you?" Hiroyuki asked, surprised. "Ah...I see."

"Shigeru. She's one of them now!" Novalie said, looking at her Gnosis. "Brigid, of the Sun Arcana. She's beautiful!"

Shigeru looked around the club, and the destruction wreaked by the chaotic battle that had ensued.

"Let's get out of here. I want to hear everything that has happened."

**|Outside Club Kaleidoscope|19:45 pm|**

The group left the club, still tense after what had happened. Hiroyuki carried Hisaya, who while breathing, was unresponsive. Shigeru, likewise, took Rokurou outside of the club. With the situation the way it was, it seemed his lecture would be put on hold, so they could grasp what had just happened. The rubble trapping Ryosei and Fumihiro could not be moved safely, so for the time being, their bodies would have to stay there until the situation had settled down.

"So, just to be clear, you guys really are against Bythos?" Natsumi asked, nervous.

"That's right. We're not flunkies of Nisa Liat. I promise." Novalie said.

"The girls that ran outside of the club. What happened to them?" Kohaku asked. "They disappeared as we saw them leave!"

"The fan club ended up back in the Akartharto Kosmos." Hiroyuki said. "...I'm not sure how, exactly. I was under the impression you needed to use the app to warp back."

"Maybe Asami or Keiya managed to send them back?" Shintaro asked, pondering.

"I think she wanted the other girls to become Bythos soldiers, like Hisaya and those two boys." Natsumi said. "She must have wanted me to join her side. Asami-chan gave us all red versions of these phones. But mine changed to a black one..."

"Interesting." Shigeru said, curious, as he scratched his chin. "Perhaps the Gnosis truly is 'alive'."

"Komatsu-san, I'm sorry." Kei said. "We didn't want to leave things too late. Especially with Masato's sister in danger."

"I had no idea things would turn out this way..." Natsumi said. "I was really scared! Asami really went too far this time. I just watched, hoping she'd realise how scary she'd become. But she didn't stop. It was like she was possessed..."

"It seems everything went out of hand." Shigeru said, staring at the completely motionless Rokurou. He didn't even have the capacity to walk anymore, so Shigeru had sat him on a bench nearby for the time being. He slumped against the arm rest, unable to straighten up. It was like he had become a doll. "EX-NIHILO, that despicable creature. It's stolen the life of this boy. Whatever his character...the EX-NIHILO is the true villain here."

"Why the heck did it come back to life?" Masato asked, aggravated.

"I'm afraid I don't know..." Shigeru said, frowning. "It's possible there are more than one, and we've only defeated two. Or something else is at work. Regardless, we'll need to take both Hisaya and Rokurou to a hospital immediately. Not that I suspect they'll be able to do much for him..."

"That poor guy..." Shintaro said. "He made Masato destroy my grandfather's book, I know. But he didn't deserve to end up this. He doesn't even know I'm right here, the boy he used to tease every single lesson. If he never recovers, then he'll never have a chance to make up for his actions. Maybe he never would, but he doesn't even get a chance. It's too sad..."

"Asami didn't intend for things to go this far! Her plan was to make them regret their mistakes, not destroy their minds altogether" Natsumi said. "She and Keiya disappeared to go after Ryosuke. But he's become really powerful..."

Shigeru, anxious, looked grim, and sighed. "They've more than likely gone to the Fortress. But without any means of crossing the poison river, we can't reach them. We may truly lose Mizuho to Bythos..."

"No!" Masato said. "We can't give up. There's got to be a way to get there, and put a stop to Keiya and Asami's stupid plans!"

Natsumi, also on edge, looked at her phone. It was the first time she had properly looked at it, having been concentrating on the conversation. Just then, she saw something that had been pre-installed. A list of destinations to warp to. And there was one that was marked as 'PRE-SET MIZUHO NEW INITIATE'.

"Guys!" Natsumi said. "Come have a look at this!"

"What is it?" Kei asked, walking over. She glanced at the Gnosis, and was amazed. "This leads to Hanashima! But how?"

"I don't know..." Natsumi said. "But if I send this code over to you all right now, we can get to 'Hanashima Fortress' in no time!"

"Then we have a chance." Shigeru said. "The two Aeon Administrators are most likely occupied with Ryosuke. If he's turned himself into a Shadow, he'll certainly not be easy to defeat. We must move quickly."

"What about Hisaya?" Shintaro asked. "And...her friends..."

"She worked so hard to save them from prison, too..." Kohaku said, sadly.

"I...I never thought those guys would die, somehow..." Masato said, shuddering.

"Leave the squad and Rokurou to us." Shigeru said.

"But what about the Fortress?" Kohaku asked.

"I'm entrusting you five with this task," Shigeru said, seriously. "You're all stronger than I realised. Kei's Wild Card may be just what we need to tip the scales and reverse the spread of Bythos' ideology. "

"...You want us to go on ahead?" Kei asked.

"Yes. I have faith in you all. We'll of course arrive later, when we can." Shigeru said. "But time is of the essence. I know you can reclaim Mizuho."

"I understand you're all scared, especially after what happened to Ryosei and Fumihiro." Hiroyuki said. "But right now, you've got a chance to save Mizuho from any more pain like this."

"Yes, I think so too." Novalie said. "Natsumi, I know you're still new to this, but -"

"If my brother is going, I'm going." Natsumi said, adamantly. "Asami is my friend, too. If anyone can get her to stop what she's doing, it's me."

"Then please, do your best to stay alive." Shigeru said. "Remember one thing. A Persona user should always be one with their emotions. Let that be your strength."

Shintaro nodded. With Natsumi's new code, they left Kita Crossing and the ruined Club Kaleidoscope, and ended up in the Fortress.

**|Hanashima Fortress|20:00 pm|**

The bizarre citadel no longer was a white, clean hospital, rather it was a hot pink lurid mess of a base. Even the walls were tinted pink, and the lights were harsh and twisted in shape. The group were making their way through several corridors, looking for any sign of Keiya, Asami, or Ryosuke. Yet the building was quiet.

"The real hospital's just fine, right?" Natsumi asked, worried.

"In terms of structure, yes." Kei said. "But this twisted place is no doubt having some affect on the staff and patients of the hospital."

"Let's hurry up and find our Aeon buddies..." Masato said. "Asami-san should have known better than to do this! Why did she have to get Natsumi involved in all this?"

"If it wasn't for you, I might not have survived. And now I'm going to fight by your side..." Natsumi said.

"Is this you trying to look on the bright side?" Kohaku asked.

"Sort of. I'm trying to steel my resolve, not let it rust." Natsumi said. "...That's what Hideki always used to say. Remember? When he had a big exam coming up, and he was worried he would fail?"

"He got it from a manga, too!" Masato said. "He still reads it. Ah, good old Hideki-sensei, still reading shonen..."

"Your brother's an awesome teacher, actually." Shintaro said. "I'm glad we got to see him again."

"Same. Despite everything that's happened tonight, I'm grateful the four of us are on the same side." Kohaku said. "...And that we have a new member."

"I'm looking forward to seeing your Persona in action." Kei said, grinning.

"Thanks. I won't disappoint." Natsumi said, as the team walked briskly through the fortress.

The group finally saw an opening that led to the grassy courtyard in the middle of the building, which compared to the ordinary hospital was filled with exotic flowers and marble arches. In the very middle, a fierce battle was underway.

" **This is the best fight I've ever had!"**

"...A Shadow?" Shintaro said. The team ran further in, and saw the Shadow up close. Cackling wildly, a large rock resembling the planet Venus moved in between its hands, and by stretching out it fingers, it made it emit a huge burst of flame that struck a man in a black suit – Keiya.

"Damn!" Keiya said, reeling from the fiery blast.

"He's more powerful that we thought." Asami said. "No. I won't let him beat me! He has to pay for what he did! Kaihime, Shockwave Spear!"

Her Persona's spear attack was rather potent, and the flash was almost blinding. The Shadow – identified by the Gnosis as 'Astraeus' – took quite a hit from the spear, but did not appear to be willing to concede. It had more violent plans, it seemed.

" **You're pretty good. No wonder everyone calls you Hama-sama these days. But once I have that fancy core thing, everyone in Mizuho's going to bow down to me! I can control both Kosmos, one district at a time!"**

"No you won't."

Both Astraeus and the two admins turned to see Natsumi, stepping forward. Her brother and her friends were right beside her, weapons ready.

"Asami-chan." Natsumi said. "Your quest for revenge went way too far."

"Natsumi. You're okay..." Asami said, relieved.

"No thanks to you." Natsumi said, angry. "Brigid!"

Her Persona emerged, to Keiya's shock. Asami, however, didn't seem surprised.

"I knew you were different from all those other girls. You were the only one whose mind couldn't be swayed that easily." Asami said. "I wanted you with me...as one of the Aeon Administrators."

"Then why the hell were you trying to murder my brother?!" Natsumi yelled. "You call yourself my friend? You didn't have to be friends with Masato, sure. But why did you try to have him killed?!"

"That's..." Asami said.

"Nisa Liat was the one who made that order." Keiya said, coldly. "Don't blame Asami."

"What?!" Shintaro said. "Why was she trying to kill him?"

"In our attempts to gain the Cognition Core, Nisa Liat stumbled upon the EX-NIHILO. She was able to defeat it single-handedly, of course. She discovered that it attempted to absorb the minds of certain humans, as long as they held a conduit – the Gnosis." Keiya said. "She tasked me with finding a test subject, one that would provide enough energy for the EX-NIHILO."

"I told Keiya about you, Masato..." Asami said. "When I heard about what you did to Shintaro, it...made me think of Ryosuke. Keiya thought you deserved true punishment – and put the Gnosis in your sports bag that day."

"...You did?" Masato said. "You dick! I'm not some kind of guinea pig!"

"You exceeded our expectations..." Keiya said. "But you weren't supposed to live. I thought the Claret Squad would have been able to eliminate you, but..."

"...Fumihiro and Ryosei are dead!" Kohaku shouted. "All because of your stupid scheme!"

"What?!" Asami said, shocked. "That...that can't be! What about Hisaya?"

"We don't know yet..." Shintaro said. "But she's injured badly. Getting revenge, I can understand, but all you've done is make everything far worse!"

" **Um...hello? I'm still here, you morons! And I'm tired of being ignored! Look at me, you dumb fucking idiots! No one's going to be ignoring me anymore! Everyone will forget Ryosuke, sure, but that's not me anymore! Astraeus will be the most renowned Shadow ever!"**

"Will you shut up already? You talk way too much!" Natsumi chided.

"...You're never going to be human again, are you?" Kei said.

"There's no turning back for him." Keiya said. "Regardless of whether they choose this path or not, once a human becomes an Anomaly Shadow, they can never be restored to human form."

"Then there's only one path left for us." Shintaro said. "GO!"

" **You kids should be fun to rip to shreds. But I'll get rid of those two jokers first. Celebrities like them will pale in comparison to my fame, you'll see! Cosmic Chaos!"**

A giant sphere of dark matter appeared in front of Astraeus, that appeared to have countless stars swirling around it. Soon enough, a giant purple aurora surrounded it, and it expanded, detonating with a malevolent brilliance. It was enough to shatter most of the archways, vases, benches and statues that decorated the courtyard, and sent Keiya and Asami to the ground.

"Argh!" Keiya screamed.

"Damn!" Asami yelled. "...I...I can't do this..."

"Asami!" Natsumi cried. "I thought she would have trashed this thing!"

"Look!" Kohaku, surprised, noticed something. The four planets and their accompanying moons, previously orbiting Astraeus, had collapsed onto the ground and broken into pieces. This had unsettled the Shadow once known as Ryosuke, and he screamed in fury.

" **What?! Why the hell did that happen?! I should have...I should have killed all of them with one hit! Damn...I've got to recover, fast!"**

"If you're the new King of Shadows, or whatever the hell you want to call yourself, you shouldn't rely on your tools to win." Natsumi said, rolling her eyes. "Masato..."

"Yeah, sis?" Masato said, grinning.

"It's time to team up. Like when we made that chocolate cake for dad's birthday!" Natsumi said, twirling her staff.

"Teaming up always makes us stronger..." Masato said, grinning. "Then...Camulus! Think of Brigid as your sister!"

"Brigid, give your brother your full support!"

The sky immediately darkened, as Camulus conducted a fierce thundercloud above his and Brigid's heads. She danced below the clouds, and finished with a click of her fingers – scorching flames came from her, and pierced the clouds. They became full of heat and power, and floated over the Astronomer's head.

" **Huh?! No, what the hell are you trying to do to me?! Don't end my fun!"**

"Now die!  **Pyroclastic Tempest**!"

A tremendous storm of lightning hit Astraeus, each one further scorching him with the radiance of flames. Before long, his body was darkened, and thoroughly electrocuted. Smoke billowed all over the fortress, and the ground was cracked and charred from the impact.

"Hell yeah!" Masato said, giving his sister a hug.

"Yoshinaga synergy wins again!" Natsumi cheered, elated.

Astraeus, screaming in pain, collapsed onto the ground. Almost immediately afterwards, a black cloud appeared around him – many sparks appeared around it, but suddenly it imploded – leaving nothing behind.

"...Is he gone?" Kohaku asked.

"I think so..." Shintaro said.

"Look!" Kei said.

The crystalline structure, shaped like a diamond, broke apart, and its pieces phased into the ground, creating a giant glyph of blue light. Out of it came a large, seemingly glass purple sphere, that seemed to be constantly emitting a mixture of purple and blue air. Within the orb were tons of teal gaseous shapes, some of which briefly resembled humans before they broke apart, only to reform.

"The Mizuho Cognition Core!" Masato said.

"And it's ours." Kei said. Quickly, she grabbed it in her hand. Her entire body began to glow, and she began to breath deeply. Eventually, however, the core flashed a bright white, and disappeared – flowing into her own Gnosis.

"No!"

Asami, having recovered, had seen the whole thing. She and Keiya were in shock – and the entire place began to shake violently. The pink fortress walls collapsed, and the poison waters receded. Before long, however, the ordinary walls of Hanshima Hospital built themselves out of thin air, and the 'sea' became the ordinary parking lot.

**|Hanashima Hospital|20:15 pm|**

The group were now in the famous hospital's courtyard, a far less grandiose place than what it had been transmogrified into. Yet it was comforting to see it back to the normal building, rather than a freakish place of vivid colours surrounded by deathly waters.

"There..." Kei said, relieved. "Now the people of Mizuho won't have to be brainwashed anymore."

"You've ruined everything!" Keiya shouted. "We've devoted countless hours trying to get the core to manifest, only for it to fall into your hands!"

"I think ensuring the free will of the people is a far better prize than forcing them to worship your sick cult." Kei said, shaking her head.

"Yeah!" Natsumi said. "After everything that's happened, there's no way I'd ever become one of your admins!"

"But..." Asami said. "We finally made them suffer! You wanted Rokurou to pay for ruining your friendship with those two, didn't you?"

"Maybe, but...Masato became friends with them, anyway." Natsumi said. "I'm one of the Knowledge Seekers now! You were one of my best friends, but as long as you're part of a group like Bythos, I can't be with you anymore."

"...Fine." Asami said. "At school, we'll just pretend like nothing is going on. But from now on, if we meet each other in this world, I won't show mercy. Ryosuke is gone...but there are countless people like him throughout this country. We'll get that core back, and all the others. The entire world will side with us one day, and your little victory tonight won't change that!"

The two of them warped away, disappearing into the night. Natsumi, angry, looked up at the sky.

"You've got to let go of your pain, Asami. Otherwise, you'll end up hurting even more people..."

The group was quiet for a few minutes, as they kept watch. Finally, however, they were joined by Shigeru and the others.

"...What has happened?" Novalie asked. "Everything is back to normal!"

Kei held up her Gnosis, and an image of the Mizuho Cognition Core appeared. She smiled, proud of herself.

"Well done, Kakusa-san." Shigeru. "And to all of you, as well. Had you not been part of our group, we may well have lost Mizuho to Bythos forever."

"Thanks..." Masato said. "...I'm sorry we didn't follow orders earlier, though."

"There's no point dwelling on that anymore." Shigeru said. "Thanks to all of you, Mizuho is safe. Although I wish we could have avoided casualties."

"Rokurou is never going to recover, is he?" Kohaku asked.

"...I doubt it." Hiroyuki said. "Hisaya is in good hands, though. They're going to try contacting her family. Although considering the fact she's suspected of killing her father, she may not have any relatives to contact her."

"That's awful..." Natsumi said.

"Don't let it get to you. You aren't responsible for what happened to her, Rokurou, Ryosuke, Fumihiro or Ryosei." Hiroyuki said. "I know it hurts, not being able to save them. Believe me, I've been in the forces long enough to go through that..."

"Keep that core safe within your Gnosis at all times, until we can find a more secure way to store it." Shigeru said. "...Children are suffering because of this Kosmos. The less Bythos are able to tamper with it, the better."

"I understand. I'll guard this with my life." Kei said. "Let's go."

The group transported themselves to the Bella Donna, and the Hospital fell silent – aside from a sudden gust of wind, that lasted only a second.

**|Bella Donna|20:30 pm|**

"...I wish I could feel better about today." Kohaku said.

"I know." Kei said. "We saved Mizuho from being completely brainwashed. That's an achievement. But..."

"Natsumi." Masato said. "Are you sure you want to stay with us?"

"I'd rather stay with you than fight by Asami's side." Natsumi said. "...She called me her friend, but her harebrained plan almost got me killed!"

"Having to go to the same school as her is going to be difficult." Kohaku said.

"...Yeah. I know." Natsumi said. "I'll just have to talk to Eiji more. Not that I really care about his pet turtle, but if it stops awkward silences in class..."

"Don't make him think you have a crush on him. Yuka got texts from him for weeks." Masato said, wincing. "Unlucky for him, she's the captain of the boxing team..."

Kei was about to speak, but suddenly, her Gnosis started ringing. It was a video call, like the one she had received last week. She pressed the icon to answer it, and sure enough, there was the darkened face of Nisa Liat. All four of the other Gnosis had the same call – a 'Council Summoning', the app called it. There was a list of their full names, but two of the rows that had once been question marks had been filled by the Yoshinaga twins.

" **Good to see you again. I believe you remember what I said last week, yes?"**

"This is Nisa Liat?!" Natsumi asked. "Why can't I see her face?"

"She's a coward, that's why!" Shintaro said.

"Last Monday, you said you'd ask us who we'd side with." Kei said. "...Today, your Aeon Administrators have caused havoc in Mizuho. One boy has become completely brain dead. The other became a Shadow that we had to kill. Not to mention what happened to the Claret Squad. Why should we side with you now?"

" **You claimed the Cognition Core for yourself. I can tell that much already. You still have a choice of who to relinquish it to, however. Do you wish to hand it to Shigeru Komatsu? Can you trust the Mayor he serves? Yuko Ashikaga's career is smeared with blood..."**

"What...are you talking about?" Kohaku asked.

" **Oh, you'll learn soon enough. Let's just say that within the Police are some rather...insidious individuals. You learned of Ryosuke and his father, didn't you? The Chief of Police wanted so hard to expose the truth, bless his kind heart...but Yuko only thought of preserving the illusion. That the Police within Shinshuto are honorable men and women who uphold the law. She tried to get rid of him, but failed miserably."**

"He knew about Asami's friends?" Natsumi asked.

" **He certainly did. Another of my Aeons has had some...unpleasant experiences with the police force herself. You can bet the Chief found out about that incident, too. But I'll let her fill you in, whenever you encounter her. She's more than a match for you, Wild Card or no Wild Card."**

"So why kill him?!" Kohaku asked.

" **I wanted to give the council a chance to redeem itself, and come clean. If Yuko confessed, someone far more righteous could take over. Maybe even Komatsu-san. But she refused, and her council tried to sweep everything under the rug. Thus, I got rid of the Chief personally...well, I used a Shadow to control that nurse, but she wasn't exactly innocent either. She was using hospital resources to peddle drugs."**

"This is horrible! Are you insane?!" Natsumi asked.

" **Natsumi-chan...this is how it is. If Yuko Ashikaga refuses to confess to her sins, I shall bathe the city with the blood of her people. The true depth of her sins...even I don't know yet. My hope is to gather all the Cognition Cores for all six districts, and unite the people against her. When that day comes, I shall strike her down with my own Persona. Then I can begin the true regeneration of Shinshuto City. Only my chosen people will be invited to live there. The others? They'll be sacrificed to empower the new world!"**

"...This is stupid! There's no way you can get all those orbs!" Masato shouted.

" **Confident as always, Masato-kun. I always liked that about you."**

"How the hell do you even know me?" Masato asked.

" **I've attained knowledge far beyond anything Chieki or Kansei can teach you. I like to call it my own brand of supreme sophistry. Bythos will take this rotting city, and make it a world of the glorious. One where people can trust one another. If Shinshuto continues down this path, it will be hell on earth. Don't you want to prevent from happening? Kei Kakusa, do the right thing. Transfer the Mizuho Cognition Core to me!"**

"No." Kei said, without even thinking it over. "You keep badmouthing Mayor Ashikaga, but your Bythos group are ruthless evil scumbags. Do you even care what happened to your Claret Squad? Or were they expendable?"

" **The other three squads we've created will be sufficient. Very well. If you've made up your mind, I won't ask again. The next time we meet will be face to face. You can decide for yourselves if I am a coward or not. Until then...be prepared."**

The call ended, and the group looked at each other dumbstruck.

"She seems pretty serious." Masato said.

"I'm with Kei. I don't want anything to do with her, even if the Mayor is as bad as she thinks." Natsumi said.

"Shigeru is on our side. I don't doubt that for a minute." Shintaro said.

"Let's go home." Kohaku said. "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep..."

"Kohaku..." Kei said, sadly. "I...I'll see you at school tomorrow. We'll probably be meeting with Shigeru and the others soon enough anyway."

The group walked away, and went their separate ways to go home.

**|Tostuka – Shintaro's Neighbourhood|21:02 pm|**

As Shintaro wandered through the streets leading to his home in the dark, he checked his phone. There were reports of a disturbance at Club Kaleidoscope, but details were still pending. He was exhausted, and just wanted to go to sleep. He didn't even have the stamina to read.

_Natsumi and Masato are both back in my life now. I have to focus on the positive, right? At the end of the day, we won. But I wish we could have done so without anyone dying. Rokorou was a bastard, sure, but what Bythos did to him was way worse than what he did to me. The other Aeon Admins will come to stop us, I'm sure. I wonder what they're like? Could anyone from school be one? I mean, Asami's our age and she got in that group._

As he neared his home, he thought he heard footsteps. He turned around, panicking, but no one was there but himself. Sighing, he tried to calm down, but his heart was still pounding.

_This is crazy. I've got to keep my cool. Probably just a neighbour. A good night's sleep is all I need. I just hope I can sleep. Maybe I'll pray for the guys who died...that's the least I can do, right? I just hope they can find peace, wherever they are._

He let himself in with his key, said hello to his parents - who were watching a nature programme about Hokkaido - and went straight upstairs. After changing into his blue pyjamas, he went to bed, trying to clear his thoughts. The last couple of hours had been insane, and he just wanted the next day to be a normal time at school.

Yet danger was no stranger. It was biding its time, but it would strike sooner, rather than later.

**|END OF ARC I|**


	16. Dragged Into The Dusk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past several days have been full of turmoil, with many fierce battles taking place. Yet, Shintaro and Kohaku finally made peace with those who had wronged them in the past, and met new and powerful allies. During the events in Mizuho, the group managed to win the Cognition Core and defeat the Anomaly Astraeus, while Keiya Tsukino and Asami Hamasaki revealed themselves as Aeon Administrators of Bythos, and the Claret Squad were destroyed, albeit tragically.
> 
> Yet the road ahead is full of danger. Two new Aeon Administrators are lurking in the shadows, along with the Azure Squad. Not only that, fierce Shadows threaten to destroy Kei and her friends. However, two new allies appear, both with ties to the Admins. Will this lead to another victory, or an unprecedented tragedy?

**Arc II:** Family Ties

_They've chosen to side against me. Not unexpected, but disappointing._

_After all, I have planned and prepared for every eventuality ever since I began my new journey._

_They are completely oblivious to the truth. I alone am the one who knows the way of this universe, and how it came to be._

_The fateful day that everything changed put an end to any joy my heart could feel._

_Yet the time will come soon when everything is back where it should be, and no one can interfere._

_They've rekindled friendships, that had once been torn asunder by hatred._

_But there is one boy out there who cannot so easily let go of his own resentment._

_When he is confronted with a face from his past, how will he cope?_

_And what of that girl who came so close to learning of the true world?_

_All I can do is continue to orchestrate this saga, until time can truly move forward._

* * *

**|Pleroma|**

_Where am I?_

Shintaro thought he had gone to sleep, yet now he was floating in mid-air. Or so he thought. He inside saw an endless sea of purple mist, both slowing down and rushing past him. It was almost like liquid, and he was floating through the sea. He couldn't see anyone, but he saw strange blue silhouettes, almost made of gas, float past. And they were almost humanoid in shape.

He saw something glimmer far ahead. Curious, he 'swam' towards it as fast as he could, but it didn't seem to get any closer. Feeling tired, he gave up. Until that light same rushing up to him. It seemed to be a window...one that lead to his classroom. It sucked him inside, and and he immediately landed onto his chair next to Kohaku and in front of Akari.

_This is weird. I can't see that weird misty world anymore. Was that all a dream? Was I sleeping in class? No, surely not..._

He couldn't seem to control his body, though. It just kept going through the motions.

" _Bythos? Those total psychos? Everyone's been going on about them. Lots of government criticism on their website, but they're so vague about everything."_ Kohaku said.

Shintaro didn't understand. Why was he suddenly back to his first day of second year? This had to be some kind of dream like state. His body spoke familiar words, went through the same gestures, but he had no influence on any of them. He and Kohaku spoke with Akari, and as they did, something felt off. There was just this unsettling feeling beneath the surface, that this vision wasn't quite right.

_This is my classroom, right? Then why does it feel so different than it did yesterday? It's like I can see it more clearly than before._

Soon after his thought, Mrs Suzuki came in the room, as did another girl. One he didn't recognise, but he could tell wasn't Kei. She hadn't the teal hair, or that strange sullen expression. Rather, she seemed happy.

_What? That's not...where is Kei?_

" _...my name is Michiko Suzuki. As you can see, our school's gone through some changes since last year."_

Shintaro saw his teacher at the front of the class. Things felt hazy in this room. He could barely make out the whiteboard at the front. But then something else caught his eye. A girl standing next to Mrs Suzuki.

And it wasn't Kei. She wore the uniform, yes, but had purple leggings and bright pink eyes. Her long flowing black hair and curly bangs seemed familiar to Shintaro, but he didn't quite know how. Until he remembered someone he had briefly seen last week, but never since.

_Wait! That's the girl who I saw at the mall! I think Kei was the only other girl who could see her. But...what does this even mean?_

" _Before we go any further, I'd like to introduce a new student."_  Mrs Suzuki said.

" _My name is -"_

The girl began to speak, but suddenly, everything froze. Shintaro suddenly was able to move, yet the rest of the class was completely still. He got up from his chair, and walked closer to the girl, who smiled warmly at him. It was then he realised something else. She resembled the darkened image of Nisa Liat he had seen through his Gnosis. It had to be her. This raven-haired girl was controlling Bythos, and was even inside his head.

"You...you're..." Shintaro said, startled. "What are you doing here? Where's...?"

The girl put a finger over Shintaro's lips, and shook her head.

"We're still not there yet. I thought after all this time, we'd be ready, but it looks like we've still got a long way to go." The girl said, gazing deeply into Shintaro's eyes. His cheeks went red. "But it's okay. For you, I'd wait a thousand years."

As soon as she said this, the room itself had turned completely white, with the chairs, desks and whiteboard turning completely pitch-black. The windows were black as well, but the view outside had changed to a neon blue. The girl sat up onto the teacher's desk, facing Shintaro, and dangled her legs playfully.

"I..." Shintaro started to say, but he couldn't quite think of what to say. Was this girl really Nisa Liat? There was something about her that made it impossible to tear his eyes away.

"I told you I'd solve everything for you all, didn't I? Back when it was me, you, and everyone else." The girl said, happily. "Once everything is ready, we can tell them our big news."

"What big news?" Shintaro asked, confused. The girl looked disappointed, and wiped away tears from her eyes. "What's wrong...?"

"...Go back to sleep, Taro-kun. I promise this won't be forever."

She faded from view, as did everyone else in the classroom but him. And then he felt himself be lifted up from the ground, and catapulted through the window, soaring back through the purple mist. Then, there was a flash of blue mist, and everything was over.

**|April 14th|Kansei High School – Class 2-1|9:30 am|**

The week had gone on as normal, with no more bizarre dreams. Shintaro couldn't quite figure out what had happened. Was Nisa Liat trying to mess with his head, by pretending to be Kei? If so, why would she even do that? All of it seemed so strange, especially that purple void he was trapped in. She was gazing into his eyes with a pure affection, one that he had never seen from another girl before.

Shigeru had advised the team to carry on as normal, as far as possible, until he got in touch with them next. The Cognition Core seemed to be contained just fine inside Kei's Gnosis, and she hadn't dared to summon it – tampering with Mizuho any further could be dangerous. Now, it was Friday, and it was Biology.

"Jellyfish really are fascinating creatures, aren't they?" Mrs Suzuki said, pointing to the whiteboard. She had set it to display some high-definition pictures of a rather exotic species. "Some of them have ocelli – light-sensitive organs that detect, well, light. They can also determined up from down, which helps them respond to sunlight shining on the water's surface. These don't form proper images like our eyes, however."

"Hmm..." Kei said, looking closely at the classroom's whiteboard. The species depicted was a red variety called the Chrysaora fuscescens, more commonly known as a Pacific sea nettle, commonly found in the East Pacific Ocean from Canada to Mexico. "Suzuki-sensei? I heard people refer to them as 'Medusa'. Is there a reason for that?"

"I'm glad you asked. They're classified in the subphylum 'Medusozoa', which is part of the phylum Cnidaria." Mrs Suzuki replied. "Of course, no jellyfish can turn someone to stone. Outside of science-fiction, I hope."

Shintaro eagerly took notes down, happy to be in a lecture of Michiko Suzuki's once more. Kohaku was next to him, also taking down every fact she could glean from the class. Akari, however, wasn't particularly impressed with jellyfish, so wasn't quite as engaged.

"Shintaro, you've probably read a few studies about marine biology." Mrs Suzuki said, smiling. "Jellyfish hugely vary in terms of size, amongst other factors. Which is the world's largest species?"

"Oh! The lion's mane jellyfish!" Shintaro replied happily. "They can have a bell diameter of about 2 meters!"

"That's huge!" Akari said, shuddering. "Can they kill you...?"

"One did in  _The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes_!" Shintaro said, happily. Akari gulped, and went somewhat pale.

"Yes, I certainly wouldn't go swimming near one." Mrs Suzuki said. "In most cases, the sting isn't known for being fatal. But the lion's mane has many tentacles, so if you did get a sting, you'd probably be best getting medical attention."

"Eew..." Akari said, shuddering. "They're so gross looking."

"Perhaps, but all animals can be as cute as your Shiba Inu." Mrs Suzuki said, smirking. "Now, moving onto their ecology in more detail..."

**|After School|3:34 pm|**

The day was over again, and the students were heading home. Shintaro was walking down the steps with the girls, happily chatting away.

"So, you're back to your part time job?" Kohaku asked Akari.

"Yeah! Kaii's gonna be there. He's a sweetheart, I swear. Like, when I accidentally cut my finger on a hamster cage, he was so worried, and I had to keep telling him that I was gonna be fine. It's weird, though, he never really talks about his friends...maybe he doesn't have any outside work. But he's so sociable at work, so I doubt that." Akari said.

"He sounds nice, either way." Kohaku said, smiling. They had stopped after reaching the main path from the steps, listening to Akari's talking about work. The more she spoke, the more realised just how set she was on her future career. Animals were her life. Sure, she did prefer the cuter animals,

when he saw another student walking up to them, smiling. It was none other than Noburo, the son of their de-factor 'officer'.

"Oh, I know him!" Akari said, enthusiastically. "He's the first-year who really wants to be an actor! Suzu thinks he's really cute!"

"That's great and all, but what does he want with us?" Kei asked.

"I've no idea. Just be nice...remember who his dad is." Shintaro said, anxiously.

"Yes. We must be good senpai." Kohaku said, nervous.

"Yo!" Noburo said, cheerfully, waving to them. "You're the two lovebirds I saw in Tarumi last week, aren't you?"

"What?!" Akari shouted. "You two  _actually_  became an item?!"

"No we didn't!" Kohaku said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be silly." Shintaro said, flustered. "We were at that box office, yes, but we're not -"

Noburo burst out laughing, hand over his mouth, and the others just looked at him, bemused.

"I'm joking! Man, the looks on your faces..." Noburo said. "You two are always together, though. Anyone would think the same. Sorry. Well, I'm Noburo Komatsu."

"I know that name. Your father's in the city council!" Akari said, ignoring the uncomfortable looks the other three in her class exchanged. "I'm Akari Ito! Pleased to meet you!"

She shook his hand enthusiastically, and he smiled.

"And I'm Shintaro Nakahara."

"I'm Kei Kakusa, from Yokohama."

"And my name's Kohaku Teruya!"

"Ah, that's a nice name." Noburo said, softly. "I saw you with your family on Sunday, actually. At least, I think it was you. You had an orange dress on, right? It looked good on you!"

"Um...thanks!" Kohaku said, blushing. "But...um..."

"Hey, I've heard all about you!" Akari said. "You've been on TV, right? Like those weird fast food chain commercials?"

"Well...yeah." Noburo said. "It's not glamorous, but it's one little step towards my dream. I'm going to be in  _Death By Moonlight_ , actually. Maybe I'll see you guys on opening night!"

"I dunno, I'll have to think about -"

"Oh, that's such a wonderful play!" Kohaku said, interrupting Shintaro. "Especially Act 3, Scene 1. One of the most poignant scenes I've ever, well...seen!"

"You know it?" Noburo asked, eagerly.

"I adore it." Kohaku said. "I saw it once two years ago, and I'd love to see it again. Although I do prefer going to concerts than plays...like Aika Makino's on Saturday."

"Awesome! My senpai seem pretty cultured. I'm glad I got into Kansei now!" Noburo said. "I'm not much of musician myself, but me and Teruko are going to see Electric Sea on Sunday."

"Who are they?" Akari asked, confused.

"Oh, they're a Portuguese band. Their frontman is Netsuno Fonseca. But the woman who writes the songs and does backing vocals is incredible too. She's Leonor De Lacerda." Kohaku said, happy to share her knowledge.

"You know every musician that's ever existed, don't you?" Shintaro asked.

"Well, you know every novelist, poet, dramatist..." Kohaku said, playfully nudging him.

"HEY! Noburo! What do you think you're doing?!"

Another girl ran up to Noburo, causing him to leap up with fright. He turned around and saw her, the first-year he had been seen with since school started. She had crossed her arms, angrily, and her eyes were full of rage.

_What's her problem? Wait, she's his girlfriend..._

"Hi, Teruko-chan!" Noburo said, nervously. "I was just chatting with our senpai!"

"Don't give me that! What have I told you about flirting with other girls?!" Teruko snapped, stomping on the ground. Shintaro tried to suppress a chuckle, but she noticed, and glared at him. He looked away, awkwardly.

"He was doing nothing of the sort." Kei said, giving her a cold look. "He merely wanted to socialise with us momentarily. That's all."

"Whatever..." Teruko said. "It's not like he'd pick either of you over me anyway. Noburo and I have known each other since elementary school. I know him like a book!"

"Speaking of books, Shintaro's read at least fifteen hundred -"

"I wasn't speaking to you!" Teruko shouted, causing Akari to gasp. Some other students nearby looked on, confused.

"Okay, Teruko-chan, calm down!" Noburo pleaded. "These are our senpai, so try to be nice to them. Please?"

"Fine. Just...don't get any ideas about him. He's charming, I know, but he'd never settle for you. Got that?" Teruko said, giving Kohaku daggers.

"Loud and clear..." Kohaku said, deadpan.

"Okay! Noburo-kun, let's go somewhere fun! Don't forget, drama club meeting tomorrow!" Teruko said, grabbing him by the arm, and practically dragging him out of the school gates.

"...Wow." Shintaro said, dumbfounded.

"That's the clingiest girl I've ever seen!" Akari said, disgusted. "To think her boyfriend was so sweet, too."

"I think it'd be wise to avoid getting on her bad side..." Kei said. "Aside from Noburo, I don't think many have seen her  _good_  side."

"I can see why she's in the drama club now. She's good enough at starting it." Kohaku said, rolling her eyes. "It's a shame, I liked talking with Noburo-san. She wasn't wrong, he is quite charming. Perhaps too much for his own good."

"Yeah. With a girlfriend like  _that_ , he shouldn't be so casual about complimenting people. Maybe we'll tell his dad – uh, I mean, maybe his dad should tell him to be more careful." Shintaro said.

"I better sleep with one eye open." Kohaku said. The others couldn't tell if she was kidding, and shivered. Teruko might just be scarier than the Shadows.

Akari quickly left for her part time job, happy to be on the same shift as her colleague Kaii, and the team were finally able to head to their rendezvous with the Yoshinaga twins. They had selected a popular hangout of theirs in Mizuho. The idea was not only to welcome Natsumi properly to the team, but also to discuss everything that had happened, and decide on how to proceed further.

**|Mizuho - Umeda Underground Mall|16:10 pm|**

The Umeda mall was bustling with activity, and waiting by the fountain were the Yoshinaga twins. Having been here many times, Natsumi knew this place inside out, especially the fashion stores. While they waited for their friends from Kansei, Masato spoke up.

"Sis..."

"What?" Natsumi asked. "Don't tell me, I've got soda over my uniform? Toshiaki-senpai wouldn't stop making fun of me that time in lunch last week..."

"Yeah, but at least Evelina-senpai gave him a good kick in the shin." Masato said. "But seriously, are you okay? School was awkward as hell..."

"Yeah..." Natsumi said. "I just wanted Asami to get out of my face. But as long as she's in my home room, I have to act as if everything's fine. I can't believe her. Well, at least I'm on the good side."

"Good and evil, huh? You think it's as simple as that?" Masato asked.

"Bythos scare me. Whatever their reasons are, their methods are too extreme. They'll just spoil this city, rather than make it great. And it's already great, isn't it?" Natsumi said. "Even without Asami, in this city, my clothes are going to be sold everywhere. And you're going to be part of the Shinshuto Shockwaves."

"Damn straight." Masato said, smug. "Hey! Over here!"

The three Kansei students joined the Chieki duo, and could finally begin their discussion. To start with, they headed over to a corridor that lead to the bathrooms, hidden away from most of the shoppers.

"So...this afternoon, Shigeru sent us all a message." Kei said. She looked at her phone, and Shintaro did the same with his own device. There, a rather formal e-mail had been composed and sent to everyone, detailing the aftermath of yesterday's quest to obtain the Cognition Core.

"The Kaleidoscope somehow went through the same damage the Theio Kosmos one did. How can that be?" Masato asked.

"Who knows?" Shintaro asked. "I assumed one version of the place would be entirely different from the other..."

"Perhaps it depends on the location." Kei said, deep in thought. "Hmm. Then there's Fumihiro and Ryosei. Their bodies apparently ended up in the Akartharto Kosmos after they died – the club's been closed as part of the police investigation as a result."

"That EX-NIHILO was really a monster. I still can't something like that could exist. Even worse, it's already come back to life once." Natsumi said. "Those boys, do they have families?"

"I don't know. We learned their last names, but I didn't go digging into their family trees..." Kei said. "It's entirely possible that they truly had no one to depend on but each other."

"We never really did learn about what the Claret Squad did before Bythos..." Shintaro said. "Not that they would have told us, probably. All Fumihiro really wanted to do was beat people up and get away with it. Ryosei was a burn-out who couldn't cope with college, at least, that's the impression I had of him."

"It's a pity their lives turned out the way they did..." Kohaku said.

"I know..." Natsumi said. "I never had to fight them like you, so I know even less about them. But I wish we could have talked to them properly. What about Hisaya? Was she really the one that killed her father?"

"She practically bragged about it to us. At the moment she's still alive, so maybe we'll get a chance to talk to her." Shintaro said. "Although there's a possibility she's suffered long-term brain damage. I just hope the doctors can help her through it."

"Even if she does recover, she could be tried for murder..." Kei said. "She used her Gnosis to hide from the law, after all. Now that she doesn't have one, there's no way she can avoid her fate."

"As for Rokurou..." Kohaku said. "He's completely brain dead. On life support. No chance of recovery..."

"That's because of EX-NIHILO...!" Masato said, shaking.

"He had already been driven to despair before then, too..." Natsumi said. "If EX-NIHILO shows up again, I'll burn it to ashes. I swear it!"

"I know you will." Shintaro said. "Asami's fangirls managed to get away safely, somehow. Neither of them seem to remember anything specific about last night, other than things started to collapse. What worries me is that they were all given Gnosis..."

"Did anything appear online about them? You'd think Asami giving all those girls free high-end phones would be kinda big news. Even more so if these phones let you summon like a Minotaur or Medusa or something." Masato said.

"I looked, but nothing..." Kohaku said. "I just hope they don't end up in the Theio Kosmos again. Becoming part of Bythos is a curse, not a blessing."

"That's what I wish Asami would realise!" Natsumi said. "Everything was fine when we were just regular girls. Then she had to turn out to be one of Nisa Liat's elite forces. And there are others like her, too! Like that Keiya creep!"

"What a lunatic." Masato said.

"Ha. Hilarious." Kei said.

"...What? What'd I say?" Masato asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, uh...I'll explain later." Kei said. "I was going to suggest we go to the Theio Kosmos today, but right now, I'd rather enjoy this time with you all. We'll wait for Shigeru to contact us again before we head over there. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Yeah, that's cool with me." Masato said. "Shigeru's pretty chill, isn't he?"

"We actually ran into his son today after school. He's a good enough guy, I guess." Shintaro said. "But his girlfriend, she...well, she doesn't want him talking to any other girl. And I do mean any."

"I better look out for this guy then, so I know to avoid him." Natsumi said, chuckling to herself. "By the way, do we know anything else about the Aeon Administrators?"

"So far, just Keiya and Asami. Nisa Liat told us about a woman who had issues with the police, but that's all we have to go on. Did you hear anything else?" Kei asked.

"Actually...I did." Asami said. "They did mention someone. It didn't sound like they liked this guy that much...I think his name was  **Toki**. From the way they spoke, I'm sure it was a guy, not a girl."

"Toki, huh?" Kohaku asked. "I wonder if it's anyone famous? After all, Keiya and Asami are both fairly recent celebrities. Do you think that could be a prerequisite?"

"I can't think of anyone called Toki that's popular." Shintaro said, thinking. "Although I'm sure I remember reading about a Toki a long time ago in my dad's paper. Something about being arrested for drink driving. I was still young, though, so I assumed the drink was something like soda, and kept asking my dad why it was illegal to get orange juice all over the car..."

The others giggled, and Shintaro couldn't help but join in. At least they were still able to joke around, but with Bythos lurking around the corner, that more than likely wouldn't last.

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere by mulling it over. But I'll tell Shigeru and the others about it, just in case they're able to find out more." Kei said. "I don't know anyone at my dormitory called Toki, but I could try asking around."

The others were drawing a blank on any famous people called Toki, and started to leave the mall to explore. As they did, Shintaro tried desperately to cast his mind back to that article he read.

_I remember a picture. The man looked like he hadn't shaved for weeks, and was a mess. His clothes were dirty and torn, and I think he had a scar across his cheek. But what was his claim to fame? What was his last name? And would knowing even help us fight him anyway? We never actually did fight Keiya and Asami directly. I wonder how we would have done if we had. Perhaps this Toki will give us a real battle._

**|Shinshuto Government Office – Shigeru's Office|16:53 pm|**

Shigeru was in his office, composing another lengthy email, when the door opened suddenly. He looked up, and saw none other than Mayor Ashikaga, dressed in her red women's suit.

"Good afternoon, Yoko." Shigeru said. Yoko nodded curtly, and sat down in front of him, her arms crossed.

"Nice to see you keep your office clean." Yoko said, admiring the desk. "You certainly have a collection of family photos."

"Well, of course." Shigeru said, happily pointing at one of them. "You remember this one, don't you? Our honeymoon in Paris. Kaiyo couldn't believe her eyes when we reached the top. It was amazing..."

"I bet." Yoko said, unenthused. "Shigeru-kun, I'm sorry for not coming to see you earlier in the week, but I wanted to offer my thanks. You've saved Mizuho from becoming Bythos' playpen."

Shigeru, surprised, looked up at her. "But I wasn't the one who ultimately made that core manifest. It was those children from Kansei and Chieki-"

"You took them under your wing, didn't you?" Yoko said. "They trust and respect you. Whether or not you believe that, I know that's the truth. But we can't rest on our laurels."

"What are you getting at, Yoko?" Shigeru asked.

"The power of the Cognition Core..." Yoko said. "Have you looked into it at all? I understand Kakusa-san was guarding it for you. If she's as reliable as you claim, I'm not worried about her misusing it or losing it to anyone else. But if we can harness the core's power properly, think of what could be possible."

"...What are you suggesting?" Shigeru asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yoko shook her head. "You're not very imaginative. Just think about it. We could alter reality itself with these cores. I'm not suggesting we simply brainwash the entire city in the way Bythos would, rather...we can use the cores to help our people. Undo the mistakes of the past to change the course of our city."

"Are you talking about her?" Shigeru asked, now tense. This question had caused Yoko to shudder, and her eyes to go wide with fright. Now feeling pangs of guilt, Shigeru gave his old friend a look of pity. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up."

"...We agreed we wouldn't talk about that, Shigeru-kun." Yoko said. "All I can do is carry on as Mayor. That's all there is to it."

The two of them sat for a few moments, awkwardly. Finally, Shigeru cleared his throat.

"Well...I'll be looking into safeguarding that Cognition Core, at any rate." Shigeru said. "That's a promise."

"Good. As always, I'll be counting on you."

Yoko managed a brief smile, and slowly left the office. As she did, Shigeru turned around and looked outside his window, showing him a grand view of Totsuka.

_Ever since that day four years ago, she's never been the same. And nothing I can can bring the old Yoko back. The fun loving young woman from college, who dreamed of being the first female Japanese Prime Minister._

His thoughts were interrupted when he received a message from Kei. Concerned, he took his Gnosis in hand, and read it carefully.

**We've discussed your email. So far, nothing's changed regarding the Cognition Core, and Masato and Natsumi state that the Mizuho area is completely normal again. However, Natsumi mentioned another Aeon's name, as she overheard Keiya and Asami talking about them. A 'Toki', apparently, and it seems like this is a man. We'll be waiting for your next message.**

"Toki?" Shigeru said, tightly gripping his Gnosis. "Not... _that_ Toki?!"

Putting aside his email, he began looking through a government list of Shinshuto citizens. It took him some time to wade through the many names, but finally he saw the one he was looking for.

"Toki Hiyashi, born 20th December 1968..." Shigeru said, scowling at his computer screen. "So you're still here in this city. What are you trying to accomplish?"

_If you even think about coming near Kaiyo & Noburo again, you'll have me to answer to._

**|Bella Donna – Pet Friends|**

"All finished?" The store manager said to Akari.

"Yeah, but I'll be back next week!" Akari said, happily.

"And I'll be in tomorrow." Kaii said.

The two of them left the mall, and before long were exchanging pictures of their pet dogs. Akari couldn't help but fall in love with Kaii's beloved pet, often referred to as his 'boy', while he himself had grown fond of Akiko, the Shiba Inu.

"We've got to go walk our dogs together sometime!" Kaii said, happily. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and sighed. "Sorry, I've got to take care of something. You're okay getting home, right?"

"Yeah, sure!" Akari said. "See you later, Kaii-kun!"

Kaii smiled, and walked away. As she started to walk away, however, she realised something. She had left behind her silver watch at the store. As she ran back to get it, however, she saw Kaii, trying to hide behind a pillar. He was using his phone, but it wasn't the one in the blue case she had seen him use normally. Rather, it was a black model.

_Another Gnosis...?_

"Cool. You got everything in Totsuka under control?" Kaii said. Akari kept a distance, and kept quiet. Somehow, she had an idea that he didn't want anyone to overhear his conversation. "Good. I'm heading to Inoue Bank tonight to get the data we need. You take care, okay? ...what do you mean you're more worried about me? I'm the newest out of you guys, fine, but I'm still pretty strong. I can handle anyone that tries to get in the way."

_What are they talking about? By 'handle anyone', does he mean...fighting? And what data does he need from Inoue Bank?_

"Okay. I'll talk to you once you've got him." Kaii said. Akari saw him hang up, and quickly ran back into the store. She waited a few moments, to check that she hadn't been seen by him, and got the watch. Trying to relax, she walked outside, and saw that Kaii was gone.

"What is he up to?" She asked herself. She didn't understand anything of what he said, but she didn't like it. Too many odd things had been happening recently. That bizarre encounter with Keiya Tsukino, her friends being so secretive, and now Kaii's strange phone call. She decided, next time she saw Kaii, she'd confront him. All she hoped was that he'd open up to her, and prove he wasn't up to anything wrong.

_But if he is, what will I do?_

**|Totsuka – Shintaro's Neighbourhood|18:31 pm|**

After his group's meeting, Shintaro and the others had eaten at the Dragon Flash Bowl, and he had a hearty beef bowl with some delicious eggs on top. Now rather full, he was back in his familiar neighbourhood, and no one was around. His mother and father had gone out for dinner that night to a high-end sushi restaurant in Hayashi, so he decided to head to a local supermarket to look at some of their week's specials.

_At least I get to meet Celestine on Sunday. That's going to be so epic! Just think what it'll be like to hear her French accent up so close._

As he walked nearer the market, he suddenly felt a shiver down his spine. It was so quiet, but he had a strange feeling he wasn't alone. He looked left and right, yet couldn't see anything but himself and his own shadow. Sighing, he continued down a side street towards the main road, seeing the neon lights of the supermarket up ahead.

As he walked onward, however, he felt something around him break. He heard a piercing sound, almost like glass shattering. Afraid, he looked around, and felt a sudden change in the atmosphere. This was still Totsuka, but not of this world. No...he had somehow wound up in the Theio Kosmos.

"What?! Why am I here?!" Shintaro asked, startled.

"Cause I had to take you here, kid."

Shintaro gulped. Before he could do anything, however, he felt a sudden sense of drowsiness. He collapsed, only to be caught by another person. Before he fell into a deep slumber, however, he saw a glimpse of the culprit. A man with a scruffy beard, with a face that seemed reminiscent of someone he had seen before.

_What the hell...I can't stay awake...?! Kohaku...where are you? Please...someone save..._

He finally fell asleep, the Dormina spell finally taken affect, and everything went dark.

**|Kohaku's House – Kohaku's Room|18:44 pm|**

Kohaku was back at home, playing her flute. However, having come with her were Natsumi and Kei, who had decided to become her audience.

"Wow, you really know a lot of Disney songs..." Kei said, impressed, as she looked through the various crumpled sheet music. "Even  _One Jump Ahead_. Nice."

"This room's just as adorable as I remember it!" Natsumi said, excited. "I thought I'd never be invited here again."

"Hehe!" Kohaku said. "It hasn't changed that much over the years. I don't like getting rid of anything, especially music."

She turned on her hi-fi, and began playing Aika Makino's first album. The girls were sitting on the plush bean bag chairs in a circle, chatting away.

"Hey Kohaku, what are the other students at Kansei like?" Natsumi asked. "Is it just the three of you who hang out together?"

"Well, we're friends with another girl called Akari." Kohaku said. "She's really sweet, especially when it comes to her pets. But she's not tactful at all. Since she doesn't know anything about this world, we can't really invite her to our meetings. I hope she doesn't feel left out..."

"I wouldn't worry so much. Akari spends a lot of time on her part-time job, doesn't she?" Kei asked. "And she seems to be quite close to this Suzu girl."

"What about the boys at Kansei?" Natsumi asked. "You must get a lot of admirers. Especially with your hair looking so awesome these days."

"I...I suppose I have had a few compliments recently..." Kohaku said, blushing. "There are some nice boys at the school, yes. One of them is Shigeru's own son. Noburo!"

"Oh really? Isn't that kinda awkward?" Natsumi asked. "It'd be weird if he overheard you talking about it...better watch out."

"Please, we're not that stupid." Kohaku said. "What about your friends at Chieki? I mean, after what happened with Asami, it must be rough there..."

"It is a bit weird, yes." Natsumi said. "We used to talk all day. Now we just...ignore each other. Sooner or later, we're going to have to fight each other. She can't do anything to me at school, though. Other than here, there are a few other girls that are cool, but then there's Eiji, Masato's best buddy. He's so dumb, but he's kinda funny."

"What about you, Kei? Have you made any other new friends at school?" Kohaku asked.

"Aside from you and the others, not really. But near my dorm is this wonderful toy shop, owned by this really kind old man called Wakahisa. And he has a daughter in college, who comes around a lot. I've...actually started working there part time." Kei said.

"You kept that quiet!" Kohaku said. "Now I better get a job!"

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we all hang out Sunday afternoon, then explore the Theio Kosmos some more?" Natsumi asked. "We can check out the Asakita Theme Park!"

"Oh, I've been meaning to go there!" Kohaku said, excitedly. "I'm down for it! How about you, Kei?"

"I've never been. But I'd love to see it." Kei said.

"Masato will go for sure. They've got good candy there." Natsumi said.

"Then I'll just ask Shintaro..." Kohaku said. She typed a message, and sent it, but it came up with an error. "Huh?" She sent it again, but the message wasn't going through.

"What's wrong?" Natsumi said, looking at one of Kohaku's fox plush toys.

"His phone must not be working properly." Kohaku said, trying to reassured herself. Yet he usually had his phone on and fully charged. What could have happened? Well, she would see him at school, so could ask him directly.

"Sunday in Asakita, huh? It should be good." Kei said, pondering it. "The park's only about ten or fifteen minutes from my dormitory, too."

"Y-Yeah..." Kohaku said, trying to hide her anxiety.

_Shintaro, are you okay? Don't make me worry like this...I can't relax unless I know you're alright._


	17. The Truth of Fatherhood

**|Komatsu Home|7:30 am|**

Shigeru was in the kitchen with his wife Kaiyo, having a healthy breakfast and reading the local newspaper. As expected, there had been much speculation on what had happened in Kaleidoscope, and Mizuho was still in a state of panic. Bythos support had suddenly diminished to practically zero, when it had been so high just before.

"Are you alright, darling?" Kaiyo asked, looking over to him.

"Yes, dear. It's just...all this mess in Mizuho is giving everyone in the council a massive headache." Shigeru said, drinking his coffee.

"I can imagine." Kaiyo said, sadly. "Please, try and keep it together. I know you and everyone else on the council can get through this."

"You don't have to worry so much -"

"I do, though." Kaiyo said. Her smile faded, however, when she took a glimpse of the date on the newspaper.

"...Is it him?" Shigeru asked. Kaiyo nodded, sadly.

_Even after so many years, she still can't forget what he did. Damn you, Toki Hayashi..._

He grabbed his wife's hand tightly, their wedding rings catching the light coming from the window.

"I'm with you now." Shigeru said. "I made a promise to you, and I never break my promises. As long as I'm here, you won't have to be afraid of him. And I swear I'll protect Noburo, too."

"What do I need protecting from? Bad casting directors?"

Noburo had entered the room, utterly confused.

"I was talking about Bythos, actually." Shigeru said, hastily. "They've been quiet the past couple of days, but if they try anything else, we'll stop them."

"But your job's in education, right?" Noburo asked. "What are you going to be able to do to stop them?"

"Mayor Ashikaga is already hard at work at stopping Bythos in their tracks." Shigeru said, grimacing. "And I will give her my full support. Or do you not think that counts for anything?"

"Hey, that's not it at all!" Noburo said, frowning.

"Don't give me that look. This isn't an easy time for anyone in this city." Shigeru said.

"...Alright. Sorry, dad." Noburo said. He sat down at the table, and Kaiyo went to prepare him some breakfast. After a few moments of silence, Noburo sighed.

"What's wrong now?" Shigeru asked, still irritable.

"Well, I was trying to talk to some of my senpai yesterday at school, but Teruko-chan kinda...got mad at one of them." Noburo shook his head. "It...it doesn't matter, really -"

"Don't be like that." Shigeru said. "You know you can talk to me about anything. You're my son, after all."

"It keeps happening. Whenever she sees me talking with any other girl at school, she blows up and makes sure they know I'm hers, not theirs." Noburo said, head in his hands.

_Teruko Yoshikawa, huh? How long has it been since he first introduced me to her? She seemed so sweet, but from what I've heard lately, she's a little too passionate about him._

"You need to work this out with her." Shigeru said. "You still feel the same way about her as you did in middle school, don't you?"

"Of course I do, dad." Noburo said. "I don't want to lose her. No, I  _can't_ lose her. But I can't just avoid every single girl at school. I need to apologise to Kohaku-san, too."

"...What?" Shigeru said, surprised.

"She's one of my senpai at Kansei. Along with Shintaro-san. We saw each other when we bought the tickets for Electric Sea, remember? You got out of work early and met up with me..."

"Ah yes, I remember now." Shigeru said, trying to stay calm. Of course Noburo wanted to befriend his senpai, he was a charismatic young man – which had already landed him a few minor roles on TV. Yet it had to be  _those_  senpai, the ones who were working with Shigeru to stop Bythos. He had to make sure they kept Noburo out of the Theio Kosmos, and anyone else for that matter. But he couldn't simply forbid him to talk to other students, at least not with any sort of excuse.

"Sorry dad, I know you're really stressed at work right now." Noburo said. "I'll talk to Teruko-chan. She usually hears me out when I'm worried about something."

"...Do what you have to do." Shigeru said.

_Toki Hayashi could be around the corner, Noburo. If he appears, I may have no choice but to fight him. I don't want you to ever know about this. Ever. Not you or Kaiyo. I've got to protect the two of you._

**|Kansei High School – Mathematics|11:21 pm|**

"Alright, carrying on our lesson yesterday on the euclidean algorithm..." continued Tetsuya Horiguchi, a Mathematics teacher of Kansei. A kind man, he was one of Kohaku's favourite teachers, and she was usually engrossed in his lessons.

But not today.

_Shintaro didn't come home last night..._

She sat there, staring at her desk, trying her best to take note down. But every time she saw the empty chair next to her, her heart skipped a beat, and she was reminded that her one constant in this school was missing.

"...What's the matter, Teruya-san?" Mr. Horiguchi asked.

"Um..." Kohaku muttered, nervous. "I..."

"Ah, I see. Nakahara-san's absence is unprecedented." Mr. Horiguchi said. "Please try not to worry. I'm sure Shintaro will show up soon. I'll ask the other faculty and students to keep an eye out for him." He gave her a smile, one of confidence.

"Thanks, Horiguchi-sensei." Kohaku said, yet she still felt numb. Kei and Akari looked at her, with concern, but kept quiet. She had been emotional during lunch, more than she had expected. If Shintaro had just been ill, she would have left been assured he was at home, and she could come round later and share study notes so he wouldn't fall behind. Yet no one had any earthly idea where he was.

She would text Natsumi about the situation – and ask if they could meet up at Chieki. Maybe the four of them could come up with something. She could only hope that Shintaro was safe for the time being...

**|Chieki Academy – Front Gates|13:45 pm|**

Kohaku had already contacted the twins about Shintaro, and she and Kei were going to meet them at Chieki. Fortunately, Asami had already gone home for today, having been extremely quiet the entire week, so they could hopefully avoid conflict. While Akari had been worried about Shintaro, she was eventually persuaded to go home. Keeping her in the dark about the Theio Kosmos seemed harsh, but it simply was too dangerous to involve outsiders. If she wasn't capable of using a Persona, she'd be doomed.

"Kei, where do you think Taro-kun is?" Kohaku asked.

"If he was to run away from home, wouldn't your house be his first choice to go to?" Kei asked.

"Probably. It's weird..." Kohaku said, as they reached Chieki. The twins ran up, looking worried.

"Any news?" Masato asked, anxious.

"Unfortunately, not yet." Kei said. "His parents must be out of their winds with worry."

"So are we..." Natsumi said. "I've already sent a message to Shigeru. Don't worry, Asami didn't see it. He hasn't responded yet, so maybe we should wait somewhere until he gets in touch with us."

"No need to wait. I can see you're all present."

Kei's Gnosis was receiving a video call – and this one was from Shigeru. She held up her Gnosis, and this time it displayed his face clearly. Also on the call were Novalie and Hiroyuki.

"I've already began searching for Nakahara's Gnosis." Shigeru said. "From what we've learned, each one of them can be tracked via a special app that lets you detect where your 'friends' are. Now that you're all synced with each other, I can see you all gathered outside Chieki Academy."

"So...we can spy on each other?" Masato asked, a little disturbed.

"You can disable this option, of course, by sliding towards 'Private' mode. This makes it so only you can see where you are in Shinshuto. Unfortunately, Nakahara's Gnosis is currently in this mode, but whether it is of his own accord is unclear."

"...Are you suggesting he was kidnapped?" Kohaku asked.

"I was afraid that was the case...but I didn't want to say it out loud." Kei said, anxious.

"It's out of character, as far as I understand, for Nakahara to take any time off school, and even more so for him to disappear from home." Shigeru said. "Come to the hotel suite. We can discuss this in more detail."

The call ended. Without any pause, the team swiftly made their way to Ginumi via their phones. Kohaku had only one goal in mind – to save Shintaro. Everything else could wait.

**|Grand Laguna Hotel|13:56 pm|**

"Welcome back." Hiroyuki said. "We've already been informed of the situation."

"I can't believe something like this would happen..." Novalie said.

"If a Gnosis is switched to private mode, does that mean it's impossible to tell where it is at all?" Kohaku asked. "There must be some way to bypass it!"

"As a matter of fact, there is." Shigeru said. There was a knock at the door, and Shigeru looked up. "Come in, Rimando."

The door swung open swiftly, revealing a young lady, and while Kohaku didn't recognise her, Natsumi practically jumped up in surprise. The new guest, in her mid-twenties, had purple spiky hair, in a small ponytail that went down and across the left side of her face. Her emerald eyes scanned the room, and she nodded at everyone curtly, ignoring Natsumi's apparent glee – as well as Masato's confusion.

_Who is she? She's not exactly dressed for battle..._

She wore a lilac sequinned top, with a highly sparkly amethyst necklace, and matching bracelets. Also, coming down her knees was a purple and white flowing skirt, with a small slit. To show off her height, she had on black high heeled boots.

"Hey." The young woman said. "...Um, what's with her?" She pointed at Natsumi, now somewhat apprehensive."

"I've no idea..." Masato said. "Do we have to sedate her?"

"Shut up, you ass!" Natsumi snapped. "This is Reia Rimando! You know, the woman who owns  _Veil Valour_ , only one of the coolest stores in Hiyashi!"

"Ah." Reia said, now calm and collected. She picked up a blueberry muffin from the table, one that Novalie had apparently made, and began eating it. "Yes, that's my day job. I've been designing the clothes there for a little while now. But, as you can probably guess, I got a Gnosis and a Persona – which is pretty awesome – and I'm helping out Shigeru when I can."

"Rimando was attending a fashion event during the events of Kaleidoscope." Shigeru said. "Otherwise, she would have come with us."

"Relax. I'm here now." Reia said. "And I already know about you guys. I remember you now. Natsumi Yoshinaga, is it? You've been in my shop a lot, I remember that hair now. Too bad you're not in Kansei, though. Green is so not a good colour."

"Hey..." Masato said.

"Don't we have more important things to discuss?!" Kohaku shouted, frustrated. "Shintaro could be out there  _dying_  and we're bickering about the colours of our uniforms!"

"Kohaku..." Novalie said, sadly. "Please, try to stay calm. We will find Shintaro, no matter what."

"His Gnosis is on private mode, huh?" Reia said. "Check this out." She got out a laptop – naturally, it was purple – and connected her Gnosis via a lilac USB-C cable.

"What exactly are you doing, Reia-san?" Natsumi asked, walking over.

"Gimme a sec." Reia said, typing furiously. "I took a few computing classes during my fashion design degree. I learned a lot in my five years in London. In particular, the myth about their teeth is just that, a myth. Apart from that one guy who used to run the student union. Made our only date pretty awkward..."

A black window appeared, displaying text in white that, while mostly undecipherable for Kohaku, seemed to be displaying the internal code of Reia's Gnosis. "Shigeru sent me the data he had on Shintaro's Gnosis. Which means, if it's still powered on, we should be able to bypass whatever privacy settings he has and get a GPS co-ordinate. It might be a while, but I'm working on it."

"Okay. Do whatever you have to do!" Kohaku said, anxiously. "Shintaro's life might just depend on it."

"Hey, I'm under enough pressure as it is." Reia said, without raising the tone of her voice. "Natsumi-san, I know you wanna chat some more about the store, but -"

"No, this is much more important." Natsumi said. "I only just became friends with Shintaro-kun again. I can't lose him."

"Nor can I." Masato said. "It took us so long to meet again..."

"While we're waiting for Reia to finish, we should discuss the situation with Bythos." Hiroyuki said, moving over to the monitor. He displayed a giant skyscraper of Shinshuto. "Inoue Bank – that's one of the Divine Nine skyscrapers, by the way – has heightened security. Strange activity has been happening there."

"What do you mean, Kita-san?" Kei asked.

"Well, objects somehow moving without anyone having touched them. Security alarms going off even with no actual intruders. Or at least, ones that appear on camera." Hiroyuki continued. "Inoue serves many customers around the world, so they already took security rather seriously. But now they're suspicious of everybody."

"The thing is, no actual customer data has been compromised." Novalie said, pouring a cup of tea for Reia, who was carefully scrutinising her data. "Inoue Bank have always been upfront about their business, from their many successes to their failures. Nothing has been hidden from the public – so what exactly Bythos are hoping to achieve is still unknown."

"We've got someone else keeping an eye on the building." Hiroyuki said. "He's rather busy as well, so he couldn't aid us in Mizuho. But he promised to devote more time to our efforts."

"He promised me that he'd take me out for sushi..." Reia said, dryly. "He still hasn't. Too busy with rehearsals and writing new songs. At least, that's his excuse."

"Rehearsals?" Masato asked, curious. "Who is he -"

"Later. I've got Nakahara's location down now." Reia said. Before long, she had switched the projector to her laptop's input, and displayed several screens. One of which was the coding she had been looking at earlier, while the second was of a satellite view of the Hiyashi district. The red arrow pointed to somewhere away from the busy shopping streets the area was known for – the Chiho TV Studio, the building appearing in a third window.

"Huh?" Masato asked. "Why there?"

"Beats me." Reia said. "The area used to be some run-down neighbourhood. Before this was Shinshuto City, there were a lot of crappy areas like those, and that was the last one to get torn down. I don't know much about Chiho TV, really, other than they mostly do kid's shows."

"Do we know roughly where in this building Shintaro is?" Kei asked, anxiously.

"According to this, it's underground. We're going to have to warp to Hiyashi to take a closer look." Reia said, standing up. "The nearest Aeon Pathway we have to Chiho so far is a few miles away in Keyaki Hills. Sending it to you all now."

Kohaku checked her Gnosis, and saw it being added to her list of destinations. Also, she now had been synced with Reia's own Gnosis.

"Who's all going to Chiho?" Reia asked, looking at Shigeru.

"There's no way I'm staying back here! Not until I find Shintaro!" Kohaku said, clenching her fists. Kei nodded in agreement, as did the twins.

"...I'm coming as well." Shigeru said, icily.

"Same." Reia said, somewhat dispassionately.

_...You don't even care that my best friend is in danger, do you? Why not show some concern like that others?! I don't care if Natsumi buys out your entire store, I don't like you one bit!_

"We'll remain here as backup." Hiroyuki said, looking at Novalie. "Not so much for you guys. If you're with Shigeru and Reia, you'll be in good hands. But our agent in Inoue Bank is all alone. We ought to be ready in case he activates the distress signal."

"Oh yeah, I made that app myself." Reia said, casually. "It wasn't that hard to do, really. Basically, all you do is tap your screen a number of times – with the correct pattern – really quickly, and then that gets sent to our little command centre here. Despite what I said earlier, our guy at the bank is pretty reliable. He won't call distress unless he means it. And he never forgets anything. Ever."

"He your boyfriend, or something?" Natsumi asked.

"...He wishes." Reia said, frowning. "Anyway, we're heading out to Hiyashi. All ready?"

"Yes, Rimando-san." Kei said, politely.

"Very formal. I like it. You'll do well, Kakusa-san." Reia said. After Novalie and Hiroyuki wished them good luck, the six of them were transported to Hiyashi.

**|Hiyashi, Where Prosperity Gathers – Keyaki Hills|14:10 pm|**

Keyaki was one of the 'hip' youthful shopping centres within Hiyashi, most known for the gigantic Hills, filled with elaborate stores. The dark blue glass windows were illuminated by bright white lights. Natsumi's eyes lit up themselves when she looked up at it. Normally, Kohaku would have been excited to wander in, but she had a mission to focus on.

"I should have asked earlier. Did you check the history of his device's location up until this point?" Shigeru asked.

"The last tracked point before now was a neighbourhood in Totsuka. Most likely near where he lives." Reia said.

"How did Bythos learn that?" Masato asked. Reia shook her head, unsure.

"Those bastards!" Natsumi shouted, finally looking away from the Hills building.

"This way." Reia said, pointing towards a tree-lined road, passing through some rather high-end houses. "The quicker we get to Chiho, the better."

"Then let's hurry up!" Kohaku said. The group began to wander, when suddenly, a quintet of identical Shadows appeared. These were strange dog-like ones called Inugami.

Reia stood forward. She summoned her weapon, a large white gleaming scythe with a fearsome spike at the end, and held it downwards with just one hand, the other on her hips.

"Whoa! That's so cool looking!" Natsumi asked, cheerily.

"It's just a weapon." Reia said, somewhat annoyed.

" **Ha! What a bunch of babies! You'll never beat the Black Condor!"** One of the Inugami said.

"...What did you just say?!" Shigeru asked, suddenly furious.

" **What's he so pissed at?"** The second Inugami said.

" **I dunno. Can we just fight already, so we can go shopping in the Hills?"** The third Inugami said.

" **We don't have any Yen, you stupid dog!"** The fourth Inugami said.

"Shut. Up." Reia said, fiercely tapping the ground with her heel. "Show me your true power! Persona!"

From the violent blue winds, a feminine form appeared, gracefully landing onto the ground and bowing to her confused enemies. Her lavender hair went down to her back, swaying somewhat in the wind, and occasionally had golden streaks flash. Her golden eyes fixed upon her opponents, and her purple lips curled into a smile. As with her 'master', she was dressed exquisitely, with a long sleeveless white dress, tightened around the waist and with a large slit, and she had white long heels with golden accents.

However, she was not here simply to look pretty. She clicked her fingers, and in her hand was a blade so thin, Kohaku could barely make it out. It was almost like a needle, except it had a faint white glow.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Eunomia, and I shall sentence all who oppose me to a death that surpasses the pain of all others."**

The Inugami whimpered with fright, but before they could beg for mercy, they were blinded by the scintillation of Eunomia's Banishing Beam. She held her left palm, and fired a laser of pure light at the four enemies. Their bodies could not keep it together, and they were disintegrated.

"Whoa!" Natsumi said, stunned.

"It's not that big of a deal." Reia said, sweeping a hand through her hair. "Those Shadows were pretty weak - you would have easily beaten them yourself."

"But you freaking slaughtered them!" Masato said, still in awe.

"The time will come when you're at our level." Reia said. "I'm still behind Komatsu-san, really."

"Reia, we need to leave. Now." Shigeru said, noticing Kohaku's growing restlessness.

"I know. I'll lead the way." Reia said, taking command. She guided the six of them through Hiyashi, briefly pointing out the Shrine. Shadows kept coming their way, but they were all slaughtered by their combined effort. Kohaku simply wouldn't let them stop her. Shintaro was in peril. It didn't matter if she was exhausted. Saving him was all that mattered.

**|Unknown Basement|?|**

"Ugh..."

Shintaro looked up. His vision slightly blurry, he blinked a few times, and everything came into view. He was lying on a plain white bed, with no other furnishings in the room that he could see. The floor was stone, and somewhat grimy looking, and so were the walls. A bare bulb shown overhead, allowing Shintaro to look around.

"...Where am I?" He asked. He looked towards the door, and gasped. A man stood there, with his arms crossed. He appeared strong, and much stockier than Shintaro's lithe frame. Around his neck was a thick black scarf, with golden flame designs. He also had something of a ninja uniform, with a think black vest, gold armoured bracers, etc.

"You were out for hours. Was starting to worry." The man said. He pulled out a bottle of water and a ham sandwich, and offered them to Shintaro. However, the boy wasn't quite in the mood for pleasantries. "Hey. You need to eat sometime."

"Why am I here?! Who the hell are you?!" Shintaro demanded. He felt for his Gnosis in his pockets, but couldn't find it anywhere. The man shook his head, and sighed.

"Listen, kid. This ain't anything personal."

Shintaro was quiet, and looked at the man now that he was closer. He had a decent physique, but his eyes were rather weary, and his hair had started to turn grey. He also had a rather scruffy beard. It was as if he and Shintaro were polar opposites...

"Okay. This place is the Chiho TV Studio. Hiyashi." The man said. "This is just some old storeroom, though. You wanna know why you're here, kid? Simple. Your girlfriend Kei -"

"Girlfriend?!" Shintaro shouted.

"Easy, kid. Considering your situation right now, the details of your relationship with her aren't that important. Think about it." The man said, almost smirking, as he scratched his chin. "Okay, whatever Kei is to you, she's got Mizuho in the palm of her hand. That Cognition Core is something we at Bythos need."

"Why?!" Shintaro asked. "Are Keiya and Asami in on this too?"

"Nah, not this time. The Princess has them doing something else in Ginumi tonight, but I can't remember what it was." The man said. "Why the Cognition Core? Well, someone with a really strong will can use it to alter the will of the people of an area. And with even more power, the area itself. The Theio and the Akartharto Kosmos are linked, kid. I got you here cause I was able to cause a crack between the two worlds, that you fell through. Not that it lasted very long, but it did the job."

_Dammit. I was careless. This guy's probably been skulking around since we got back from Hanashima. Now what the hell do I do?_

"Truth is, I dunno what exactly Nisa Liat wants to do with this city once she gets all the cores. But if we have all six, then whoever owns them is basically a God. They choose how everything works. And the nine of us that are helping her get in on the deal...our own shitty lives will be improved, little by little."

Shintaro, while angry at this man, didn't want to risk infuriating him. Without his Gnosis, there was simply no way he could fight back. Instead, he decided he had to be as obedient as possible. And hope that Kohaku would find a way to get him out of here.

"So like Asami and her three friends?" Shintaro asked.

"Yeah. That was pretty hard on her. She's only your age, too." The man said, looking at his feet. "Keiya, he...well, he used to be an actor, until some other asshole ruined everything for him. Now he's doing the card magic shit."

"...What about you?" Shintaro asked. "Natsumi overhead the name 'Toki' when she was in Kaleidoscope. Is that you?"

"Heh...guess Keiya can't help but badmouth me. He's so full of himself." The man said, laughing to himself. "But yeah. The name's Toki Hayashi. You probably were too little to remember, but there used to be a time when everybody knew my name. Or my codename on TV. Black Condor."

"What? That's Phoenix Featherman Ranger R..." Shintaro said, confused. "You were on that show?!"

"Yup. Long ago, I used to be on TV." Toki said. He took out his own Gnosis, and showed a picture of what appeared to him when he was younger. Clean shaven, with bright, almost innocent eyes, and dark hair. He was wearing the Black Condor uniform in an earlier iteration, with his helmet in his hand. "I had other roles before this, but this one really put me on the map. All the kids used to say I was their hero. The one that lead the team to victory, episode after episode."

"...I haven't watched it in years." Shintaro said. He did like the actress currently playing Pink Argus, but he couldn't remember her name, other than she was a master at archery. "What the hell happened to you, then?"

"I..." Toki said, trailing off. "It's...well, it's a long story. I let everything go to hell. They fired me, replaced me with some dumb fuck who had no business even making tea for the camera crew, and..."

"...And?" Shintaro asked.

Toki looked down at the ground, and it seemed like he was ashamed. Finally, he spoke up.

"I lost everything. Everything that ever meant anything to me." Toki said, gravely. "There's nothing out there for me. No one will ever want me on TV again. Bythos is the only place I can belong. So that's why I can't screw up this job. Without Bythos, I'm back to being less than nothing."

All was quiet. This was a man who carried a deep self-loathing, worse than any Shintaro had ever experienced.

_I was trying to think about who 'Toki' would be yesterday. That picture in that newspaper. Should I ask? He looks depressed enough as it is. If I tick him off even more, when I'm his prisoner, I could end up even worse off._

"I...I'm going outside to double check everything." Toki said. "Your friends are out looking for you. It's only a matter of time until they show up and try to take you back. I wonder what's more important to them. Keeping the Cognition Core to themselves, or your freedom...? Your fate's in their hands. Better hope they make the right choice."

Toki left the room, and now everything was deathly quiet. Shintaro cursed himself for his own carelessness. Now, Kei would be forced to hand over the Cognition Core, and they would lose Mizuho to Bythos. What an underhanded trick, and yet, it had worked.

_I'm sorry, everybody. Maybe it would be better to just leave me here._

**|Chiho TV Studio – Front Entrance|15:01 pm|**

The building was rather plain, a white large box building, with some red logos. Yet the place seemed to be teeming with Shadows, if Kohaku's Gnosis was anything to go by. The long walk here had been somewhat tiring, but she didn't care. Now she would get Shintaro back home.

"This place looks much the same as the Akartharto Kosmos." Reia said. "It didn't seem like they have a Cognition Core for this facility, so we shouldn't expect too much to be different inside. I've already downloaded the floorplan for this place. Here."

She sent the images to everyone's phones, which detailed the various studios within, as well as the various other rooms. Reia lead the way inside to the dimly lit reception area, which aside from a few potted plants, was a rather drab room.

"Rimando, where do we go from here?" Shigeru asked.

"There's a big studio on the basement floor. That's where the signal's coming from." Reia said. "There are Shadows all over this place, so getting there won't be easy. We normally would need special keycards to get through the restricted areas, but while we were walking, I downloaded the needed information onto our phones. All we need to do is display the keycard image and hold it up to the scanner."

"Alright! Reia's so cool!" Natsumi said, happily.

"Novalie is the one with Bufu spells, not me..." Reia said. "If we follow this path, we should get to the basement. Come with me!"

The group went through the door to the right, through a dark corridor. As they went through it, however, it started to get brighter. Shadows continued to appear, including Sarutahiko – a god in Shinto mythology, married to Ame-no-Uzume, whose name meant 'Price of the Monkey Fields'. Kei recruited him, and before long, the group were at the stairwell.

"Nice work, Kei." Reia said. "Your Wild Card ability is coming in handy. What Personas do you have right now?"

"Ostara, Sarutahiko, Nekomata, Jack Frost, Koppa Tengu and Angel." Kei said, looking at her Gnosis. "For some reason, the last one looks like a bondage queen."

"That doesn't sound very Catholic..." Masato said, gawking at Kei's handset. "She's kinda hot, though."

"Whatever!" Kohaku snapped. "Rimando-san, we have to find Shintaro  _now_!"

Suddenly, however, another Shadow came running down the stairs, blocking the way down to the basement. It was rather human like, but it radiated a strong force regardless. It seemed to be a blonde young woman wearing armour, with a cape bearing the colours of the French flag.

" **You must be the ones Black Condor spoke of. I am the Maid of Orleans – Jeanne D'arc. You will not escape!"**

"This isn't good. She's really strong..." Reia said.

"Leave her to me." Shigeru said, summoning Dis Pater. "I'll have her eliminated quickly."

**"You mustn't be so overconfident. It will only lead to your downfall. By my sword and my honour, I will slay you all!"**

"You really think you can accomplish such a feat?" Shigeru said, taking up a fighting stance. "Then face me! Wraith Cross!"

Dis Pater's large laser blades protruded from its hands, and slashed the Shadow in a cross formation. It then hurled her backwards onto the ground, leaving her in pain.

"Hurry up and go!" Shigeru said, pointing to the stairs. "I'll rejoin you as soon as I've defeated her!"

Reia nodded, and ran towards the basement. The others followed, and as they did, the heard the sounds of a fierce battle. The Maid of Orleans was formidable, and strong willed, but she would learn soon enough that a human's heart was stronger than all others.

| **Chiho TV Studio B1|15:32 pm|**

After navigating through more corridors, the group of five reached a large, rectangular studio, with a full sound set and cameras pointing at what appeared to be a home's rather luridly pink and yellow kitchen. Natsumi seemed sickened by the sight, much to Masato's amusement.

"Nakahara's Gnosis seems to be around here." Reia said, looking at her notes. "...Don't worry about Shigeru. He's a black belt in karate. So even before he was hurling around Curse spells, he was already a badass."

"It's hard to imagine him in the full karate uniform." Masato said.

"He's all about the business suits, the long coats, that kind of stuff. Not my forte, really." Reia said. She checked her Gnosis, but sighed. "Damn. He's still fighting Jeanne D'arc. I bet no one else in the council can say they beat up Joan of Arc..."

Kohaku looked around, but couldn't see anyone else. She had never seen the show that was filmed here, but the set design was just atrocious to look at. There was a door towards the back, with a sign above saying 'Storage'.

"What kind of shows do they film here?" Masato asked.

"Obviously, hard-core porn." Reia said.

"...How do you even say that with a straight face?" Natsumi said, bewildered, while Masato cracked up. Kei couldn't help but laugh as well.

"It's just one of my many talents I learned in London." Reia said.

Kohaku was now at the door, and grabbed the handle. However, it wouldn't budge at all. Grunting, she grabbed it with both hands, but only managed to hurt her hands.

"Shintaro! Are you in there?!" Kohaku shouted. She heard footsteps coming closer. Finally, when she heard the voice she had been dying to hear, her heart soared.

"Haku-chan?! Is that you?!"

"Thank god! We've been looking all over this stupid studio for you!" Masato said, relieved.

"Are you alright?! You're not hurt, are you?" Natsumi said.

"I knew we'd find you in the end. Don't worry. You'll be out of here soon enough." Kei said, calmly.

"That's right." Kohaku said, overjoyed. "I'm sorry it took us so long..."

"No, don't apologise. It's so good to hear you all..." Shintaro said. "It was -"

Kohaku suddenly was pulled away from the door by Reia, who had her scythe ready. She had nearly been sliced apart by a pair of swords, one a katana, the other a wakizashi. And their wielder was Shintaro's kidnapper, a man with a world-weary expression, yet still strong and agile. Immediately, Reia rushed forward with her scythe, only to be blocked by the man's swords.

"You!" Kohaku shouted. "You're the one who took Taro-kun, aren't you?!"

"So are you his girlfriend, or is it Kei?" The man asked, trying to force himself past Reia. Yet the fashion guru had no intention of letting him off easy.

"...I suggest you quit joking around, unless you like having your throat cut open." Reia said. Her eerie calmness sent a shiver down the man's spine, but he continued to hold his blades out.

"Wow. Pretty and badass. You'd make a great Pink Argus one day." The man said.

"What's with all the Featherman, anyway? We heard Shadows talking about the 'Black Condor'." Masato said.

"That's him! He used to be Black Condor years ago!" Shintaro cried from behind the door. "His name is -"

"Toki Hayashi. I was born here, but after I got into acting, I went to Tokyo. Now my home town's a huge city too. My old house used to be here. Everything changes so quickly..."

"So you're famous?" Natsumi asked. "I guess all you Aeon Admins are celebrities..."

"Celebrity? Famous? Oh, I was, back when I was in Featherman." Toki said. "Black Condor used to be everyone's favourite, and that was down to me! But I fucked it up. Badly. So I can't lose here. Kei Kakusa, hand over the Cognition Core. It's the only way I'll let your friend get out of there alive!"

"What?!" Natsumi shouted. "Oh, that is one sneaky..."

"That's not what Black Condor does to win!" Masato said. "...Wasn't that your catchphrase? You said it every single episode!"

"Oh, you remember me from back then?" Toki said, impressed. "...That was a lifetime ago. I ain't fit to be Black Condor anymore. But I haven't forgotten any of my old tracks. Especially not now that I got a Persona giving me a major leg up."

"Kei..." Reia said, looking at her sternly. She did a backflip, avoiding Toki's deadly blades. "Shintaro is at great risk here. Do you really think we can safely retrieve him and keep the Cognition Core?"

"What?" Kohaku said. "Surely we don't have to go along with his demand!"

"Yeah, that's bullshit! We fought the Astraeus together so we could stop Mizuho from becoming some kind of hell! I won't just hand it over to him! Chieki Academy will end up as some kind of brainwashed cult."

"If I wanted them to have it, I would have sided with Asami!" Natsumi said, annoyed. "We can't possibly agree to this. We must find a way!"

"...No." Kei said, glaring at Toki. She withdrew her katana, resolutely. "You're handing Shintaro over. If not, you'll see what  _I_  do to win."

Toki sighed in despair. He took up a fighting stance, and became surrounded with a blue aurora.

"So I have to fight you kids after all..." Toki said. "Fine. Just remember. I'll let you survive if you give me the core. Otherwise, you might not make it..."

His Persona appeared, and it was far from graceful or merciful in visage. Wearing a red and white oni mask, complete with bloodstained horns, it bore a long mane of untamed black hair. Its outfit was a black skin-tight suit, akin to the Black Condors, but it was ragged and torn, and its boots were covered in sharp spikes, as where its gauntlets. Completing the look was a black scarf, almost identical to Toki's own. In its hands were two rather sharp swords, one shorter than the other.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Shuten Doji...and all but one sword is powerless to stop my wrath!"**

"You heard the man..." Toki said, smug. "Bring it!"

"Oh, we will! Magna!" Kohaku shouted. Airmid attacked with the force of earth, yet it didn't seem to hurt Toki that much. "Huh?"

"...Still wet behind the ears." Toki simply laughed, and rushed forward. She gasped, and tried to block with her naginata – but his pair of swords were too fast. She was hit, and badly.

"Kohaku!" Natsumi yelled. "You'll pay for that! Eat this! Agi!"

A burning flame of Brigid's hit Toki, but it was barely enough to make him sweat. Frustrated, Natsumi swung her staff at him wildly, and tried aiming a few hard kicks too. She had been developing her fighting style throughout the evening, and was getting into it – yet she was a novice compared to Toki.

"You're even more of an amateur than the others..." Toki said, unimpressed.

"Yeah, well...you're annoying!" Natsumi chided. "Get him, Masato!"

"Zio!" Masato cried. A bolt of Camulus's lighting hit Toki, flashing through the room. However, Toki actually laughed out loud, much to Masato's consternation. "What the hell? Our attacks aren't doing anything!"

"Would we have been like this if we had fought Keiya and Asami...?" Kei asked, now looking worried.

"Those two? Man, they're always talking shit about me." Toki said, grimacing. "They've not been in Bythos as long as I have. Until the new guy last week, they were our most recent members."

"If we can beat you, then we have nothing to fear." Kei said, yet she was shaking. She hit Toki with her katana, while Masato's club hit him from behind. While he was in pain, his sword attacks were far more destructive, as he quickly showed them. "Argh!"

"Damn..." Masato groaned.

"I've not even had to use any of my real attacks yet. You sure fighting Bythos is all that smart?" Toki said, laughing a little.

"It's not the smart thing, perhaps. But it is the right thing." Kei said.

"...You know that movie?" Kohaku asked, impressed.

"Know it? I almost dressed up as Kida for halloween!" Kei said, amused. "Now! Koppa Tengu!"

The Persona, a strange Japanese creature with a long nose and huge wings, appeared, and attacked with a powerful Wind Beat – a flap of the wings, sending gusts of sharp wind at Toki. The minute he was hit, Reia's scythe slashed through him.

"Argh!" Toki cried. "So you're not as pathetic as those kids, huh?"

"Don't insult them. All they want is to save their friend." Reia said, glaring at him with disdain. "Eunomia!"

Reia, angered by her foe, called down the blessing of Kouga. Stronger than the Kouha that Angel could cast, it seemed to cause Toki a lot of pain, far more than any other attack that had been launched at him.

"Let there be light." Reia said.

"...Wow. That was almost as lame as the writing on Featherman these days." Toki said.

"Yes, because it was the pinnacle of drama during your era." Reia said.

"Tch. Go to hell!" Toki shouted. "Maeiga!"

Heavy amounts of cursed power hit the entire body, to devastating affect. Kohaku could barely stand – one more hit, and she was done for. The others were in the same boat. Even Reia was in great agony – Eunomia couldn't handle Curses nearly as well as Blessings.

"Guess I've found your Achille's Heel." Toki said. He looked at her heels, and raised an eyebrow, bemused. "You still got the receipt for those, by the way?"

"I made them myself, you arsehole." Reia said.

"...Still got some Londoner in you?" Natsumi asked.

"Man. I'm glad you don't work in TV costume design." Toki said.

"Shut up!" Kohaku shouted. "I've sick of your shit! Media!"

Her faithful Persona granted her healing power to the others, healing them considerably. Prior to this fight, Kohaku had used her Gnosis to purchase a new 'accessory', a type of bracelet that increased her medical powers, extending to her magic and her items. Perhaps for the remainder of this fight, she would have to solely be the medic.

"That was great!" Masato said. "Now, Camulus!"

A strong Iron Impact hit Toki, but he didn't even flinch, and even yawned.

"Kid, weren't you paying attention? Weapons like those barely even scratch me. They're even more useless than those entry level spells you're slinging around. It's not too late to give up and hand over the core..."

"You seriously think we'll just cave in?" Natsumi asked. "What the hell are you even going to do with the Cognition Core?"

"My reasons...are none of your fucking business." Toki said, glowering. "We need all six of them to have any chance of making this city an actual utopia. Mayor Ashikaga...wow, she's involved with some shady stuff."

"And you know this for a fact?" Reia asked.

"Nisa Liat's never been wrong..." Toki said. "She invited me to join Bythos when I was at my lowest ebb. Becoming an Aeon Administrator was my second wind. It's the closest I'll ever get to filling the void inside."

"Sorry, are you trying to make us feel sorry for you?" Kohaku asked, incredulous. "My sympathy lies with my best friend you've got holed up in there!"

"...I don't need anyone's sympathy. It won't help me. Not until I get that damn core back!" Toki shouted.

"Like hell that's going to happen! Searing Circle!"

Natsumi launched Brigid's fiery ring, which while burning hot, couldn't singe Toki particularly well. Frustrated, she hit the ground in anger with her staff.

"What, you throwing a tantrum cause you're that inexperienced?" Toki shouted. He rushed at her, but Kei got in the way. To his surprise, she managed to fend off his slashes, even with one sword less. "What the – you trained in sword combat?"

"I joined the Kendo club this week, if you must know." Kei said. "My sword is an extension of my own will. And my will is to find out just what's going on with this world..."

"Huh?" Kohaku asked. "What are you talking about, Kei?"

"The...Theio Kosmos, no doubt." Reia said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't take that tone with me!" Kohaku shouted.

"We're supposed to be fighting that old guy, not each other. Cool it!" Masato said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Exactly..." Kei said. "It doesn't matter how many times I have to fight you. I will win! Angel!"

Her divine messenger appeared, casting the holy spell of Kouha. Not quite as intense as Kouga, but it seemed to hurt Toki more than any other element.

"Good work, Kakusa." Reia said, giving a thumbs up. "Eunomia! You're up next!"

The Persona took out her needles, and stood facing Toki and Shuten Doji. She was eerily still for a few seconds. Just as Toki was about to attack Kei, something flew right through him in the blink of an eye, and he fell down, clutching his sides. Eunomia was right behind him, laughing in a 'posh' manner, having sliced through him with the Virtuous Needles.

"Damn..." Toki yelled, standing back up. He grabbed his swords, and flipped away from Natsumi's kicks and staff. "You still haven't defeated me yet. Don't look so confident! It's time I cut you down to size. Kagenui!"

Shuten Doji laughed ominously, as the area suddenly turned dark. Kohaku couldn't see anything, but there was a flash of light around Kei – as she was struck by the Oni's blades. Another flash occurred for Masato, then Natsumi. Kohaku braced herself, but even she was struck down, and collapsed to her knees. Reia took the hit, wincing, but still standing.

"...You guys can't take much pain, huh?" Toki said.

"Go...to... _hell_!" Kohaku shrieked. She stood up, furious. "I've...I've never hated anyone so much in my life! Mark my words, Toki Hayashi, I will make you regret this day!"

Airmid's Media replenished the team's health, numbing the sheer pain from the previous bloodbath.

"We've got to fight more strategically." Reia said. With a holler, she leapt through the air, catching Toki off guard, and slicing through him with her scythe. "...Me and Kei are the only ones who can really hurt him at the moment. Kohaku, I need you to focus on healing. Masato, you know a spell that can help me hit this guy harder. Natsumi, you've got one that might just work."

"Here!" Masato cried. Camulus bestowed upon Reia a mighty Tarukaja, enabling her to wield her scythe with even more brutality than before. Toki leapt out of the way, and tried attacking Masato – but Natsumi blocked both swords with her staff, and kicked Toki back.

"Ha!" Natsumi said. "Makajama!"

A peculiar force emanated from Brigid, and for a moment, Toki panicked. Yet nothing happened.

"Aww, come on..." Natsumi whined.

"You really thought that would do it, didn't you?" Toki said, laughing. "Too bad. This scarf of mine always helps me remember exactly who I am, and what I'm capable of..."

"Did you all have those kinds of scarves back in your Featherman days?" Masato asked.

"Oh yeah. They were pretty badass, too." Toki said. Distracted, he was engulfed by Kei's Kouha. "Shit!"

"Still think you're unbeatable?" Kei asked, proud of herself. "You shouldn't lose sight of your own weakness."

"Precisely. Your brain clearly isn't as strong as those biceps you like showing off..." Reia said, shaking her head in disdain. "Eunomia, would you be so kind as to finish Hayashi off?"

The goddess nodded, and pushed forward with her palm, sending forward another Banishing Beam. Toki fell over, dropping his swords, seemingly out for the count.

"Alright!" Kohaku cheered. "Now we can get the key off him. Taro-kun, you'll be home soon!"

"I just hope he still has it on him. Otherwise, we may have to scour this entire studio." Reia said. Suddenly, she gasped. Around her was a massive cluster of shadowy energy, which enveloped her. As it took hold, she screamed, falling down.

"...The hell?" Kei shouted. She gasped. Toki was back on his feet, still wielding both swords. "How?!"

"What, you thought that really was it?" Toki asked, amused. "Get serious. It's a little trick I've been working on. Playing dead, but casting Mudoon at the same time. Cursed Image, I call it."

"Are you kidding me?!" Natsumi shouted. "You conniving coward!"

"I'm done playing around with you guys. Your trump card's out of play, so you're kinda screwed. Demonic Distortion!"

Four black spheres appeared, each with a bright blue oni-like face floating within. They started to laugh, and the room got incredibly hazy, and seemed to twist around them, until Kohaku and the others seemed to be on the ceiling. Finally, gravity took over again, and they collapsed into the dark orbs, fully succumbing to their corrupt power.

"No..." Kohaku said, holding her heart in agony. "How could...I let this happen?!"

"Kohaku..." Kei said. "I should have...seen through his duplicity..."

"It hurts..." Masato groaned. "Shintaro-kun...I'm sorry..."

"I...I'm not strong enough!" Natsumi said. She looked over to Reia, who was still unconscious. This seemed to be their darkest hour yet. "I...I'm so weak.."

"What's going on?! Kohaku?!" Shintaro yelled, banging on the door. "Hang on! I'll fight too!"

"Not without your Gnosis! And you're supposed to be the smart kid!" Toki said, swinging his swords rapidly. "So, you calling it quits? Gimme the core, guys. It's like I said before. It's the only way you and your friends are gonna make it out of here alive."

"You're disgusting..." Kei said, grinding her teeth, barely able to stand.

"Agreed."

"Huh?!" Toki shouted. He turned around, and saw a man of the same height – and his countenance glowed red, burning with the fire of pure hatred. "Dammit, you -"

Kohaku gasped at what happened next, with hands over her mouth. Shigeru slammed his fist hard into Toki's face, sending him flying to the ground with a heavy thud.

"...Recarm!" Kei shouted to her Angel. The blindfolded winged young woman flapped her wings, and blessed Reia with rebirth. The clothing maestro opened her eyes, and got to her feet.

"Reia!" Natsumi cried, running over.

"I'm...I'm alright now." Reia said. "But...what's happening? Shigeru...?"

"Argh! Fuck...!" Toki said, clutching his face in a feeble attempt to numb the pain. A Gnosis had came flying out of his pocket, and landed on the floor. It reached Kohaku's feet, and she grabbed it quickly.

"Thank goodness you got here." Reia said, relieved. "We...we ran into some major trouble."

"Of course you did. This man causes no end of trouble, especially to his own family. Right, Toki Hayashi?!" Shigeru shouted. "What the hell were you thinking, becoming an Aeon Administrator?! Did you think Kaiyo would come back?!"

"You...you bastard!" Toki yelled, getting up to his feet. "You're the one who took her from me!"

"Don't flatter yourself, you piece of shit!" Shigeru said. "Dis Pater!"

The Persona's own aurora had become one of vehemence, matching Shigeru's surprise loathing of this man. Kohaku shuddered, and stood back, still feeling the pain of the fight.

"Damn! Shuten Doji, don't let me down!" Toki shouted. Despite his earlier bravado, the previous fight had drained his stamina. "Nakishigure!"

The oni warped in front of Shigeru, and began stabbing at him rapidly. Despite the ferocity of these swords, the politician stood tall. Looking up at Dis Pater, he deeply Concentrated, and his already considerable power was heightened.

"I see your Persona is as monstrous as your past conduct..." Shigeru said, icily. "Now you've resorted to unlawful imprisonment, of a minor no less, and you were prepared to murder his friends? I shouldn't be surprised. Kaiyo still has nightmares about the beatings you gave her."

"...What?!" Toki said, taken aback. "Kaiyo-chan..."

"Don't you dare refer to her like that. Not in front of me." Shigeru said. "I was there for her and Noburo, not you. We're a proper family. One you'll never be part of again."

"What are you saying?" Kohaku asked. "Is Noburo...not your son?"

"You're telling everybody that he's  _your_  kid?!" Toki asked, shocked. "He's mine! You got no right passing him off as your son, you hear me?"

_What?! You've got to be kidding! Noburo can't be...he's Toki's boy?!_

"...Dis Pater." Shigeru said. "Finish the job. Open...the Phantom Nexus."

Toki was trapped by a demonic looking glyph, that had a dark blue aurora. It began gathering darkness itself from the atmosphere, then caused a tremendous blast - shattering the kitchen set in its entirety, and enveloping the room with smoke.

"Bloody hell." Reia said, impressed.

"Argh!"

Toki, unable to stand, dropped his swords. Looking up at his foe with fear, his eyes went wide with horror.

"Your son, is he?" Shigeru said. "Why would he ever turn to you as a father ever again? The last time he saw you...he almost died. He wants nothing to do with you. Noburo needs someone he can count on. And that would be me. He's the one he calls father. I've been there when he needed someone."

"Shigeru..." Reia said, sadly.

"...Does he really hate me that much?" Toki asked, dejected.

"He hasn't seen you since he was four years old..." Shigeru said. "He has no fond memories of you he can clearly recall anymore. And that's all down to you. You drove them both away. It wasn't until I met then that they could trust someone again. So to answer your question? Yes. He does. And that's not going to change anytime soon."

"...Yeah. I know it's my fault now." Toki said, shutting his eyes. He reached into his pocket, and hurled a key forward. Kohaku went to fetch it, while Reia and Shigeru moved in on the former Black Condor. "I'm only with Bythos cause no one else wants me...sad, right?"

"We finally agree on something." Shigeru said. "Kaiyo confided in me all about you. I held her in my arms, as she wept. You caused her a lot of pain...both physically and mentally. Even to this day, she still panics when she sees someone that looks like you. But now that you'll be in prison, you won't be able to come near her. Noburo can safely go to school without you lurking around as well. Everyone will be much happier with you out of the picture!"

"...You're probably right. But I'm gonna fix everything. That's what Nisa Liat promised she'd help me do..." Toki said. He hastily grabbed his Gnosis, and before it could be seized from him, he used it to vanish. Yet he had left something behind, a photograph from a wallet.

"...Huh?" Masato said, picking it up. "This...this is -"

Shigeru seized it, and frowned. He seemed like he was about to rip it to pieces, but relented, and simply put it in his pocket.

"It's a wedding picture. Of Kaiyo and...him."

He stared at it, still in fury, but exhaled deeply, putting the photograph away.

"So that Noburo kid at your school. He's Toki's kid?" Masato asked, looking at Kei. Shigeru looked away, sighing.

"It appears so, Masato. Komatu-san, are you going to be alright?" Kei asked, with a look of concern.

"Yes. I'll be fine. I don't need you kids worrying about me." Shigeru said, now calm again. "...But thank you for your concern."

"Don't let him get to you. You're Noburo's real father. After all, you raised him for most of his life." Reia said, smiling. "And from what you've told us about him, he's turned out really well."

"Yes. Toki may be his biological father, but that doesn't make you any less of a parent. You might be the best thing that ever happened in his life." Kei said.

"...I'm lucky to have you two on my side, aren't I?" Shigeru said. "Hayashi is nothing but an waste of space. I won't let him anywhere near my son. But we came here to save Nakahara. Teruya, are you alright over there?"

"Yes...this key's really beat up, but I can do it!" Kohaku said, putting all her strength into turning it. Finally, she got the door unlocked – and immediately, Shintaro ran outside, and embraced her out of sheer relief. "Whoa..."

"Haku-chan...it's so good to see you again!" Shintaro said, weeping somewhat. "I...I'll never let this happen again. That's a promise. You won't be without me..."

"...I know." Kohaku said, tearing up herself. "I was never going to just leave you there...was I? Toki's gone, but we shouldn't stick around. We're taking you straight home."

"What are we going to tell his parents?" Masato asked, worried.

"Hmm." Shigeru said, worried. "Worry about the details later. All that matters is you going home."

"Kohaku will give you a copy of her notes later." Kei said, happily. "So don't worry about school. All the teachers were wondering where you were...they'll be so glad to see you again. Like me, of course." Her face went red, and she looked away.

"Kohaku, please take Shintaro home. Whatever you tell your parents, you must put their minds at rest." Shigeru said. "Reia, we should check to see if there are any developments at Inoue. Masato, Natsumi, and Kei, you're free to go home."

"Okay. Let's go, everyone." Kei said. Before long, the group warped away to the Akartharto Kosmos, finally having saved Shintaro from a potentially grisly fate.

**|Shintaro's House|17:30 pm|**

"Shintaro!"

His parents, having seen him from the window, ran outside and wrapped their arms tightly around their son. Kohaku stood there, smiling, yet tearful.

"I'm sorry..." Shintaro said, his mind racing for a story to tell them. "I...I needed to get away for a bit."

"It doesn't matter..." Takuya said. "You're finally home, my little boy..."

"Thank heavens you're safe..." Eriko said. "Kohaku, where was he?"

"He...He was in Hiyashi. I found him there after school." Kohaku said, trembling somewhat. "Taro-kun, you're...you're really okay, aren't you?"

"Yeah. I'm going to be fine now. I promise I won't let any more pressure get to me." Shintaro said. He felt silly, using that as an excuse. Middle school had been a terrible experience for the most part, but even then, he hadn't ran away from home.

_I can't just tell them I was kidnapped by some former actor, can I? I mean...it all happened in the Theio Kosmos. Should I tell the police what happened? Even if they did, they'd never be able to find him. He'd just slip into Theio and they'd be none the wiser. I want Toki to face justice, but the normal police can't do it. It has to be us._

"Come inside, Shintaro. You must be hungry...I'll make you dinner. Your favourite." Eriko said, her arms still tightly around her son.

"You mustn't let the threat of Bythos scare you, my boy..." Takuya said. "It's our job to keep you safe. Kohaku, thank you so much for bringing him here..."

"...It's alright. It was the least I could do." Kohaku said. She left for her house, and Shintaro was ushered inside his own home. He never thought he'd be so relieved to be back in the safety of this place.

_Tomorrow is the day I get to meet Celestine Courtois. I won't let Bythos get in the way. They're not going to succeed, not now, not ever!_


	18. Soul of Hope

**|Bella Donna|13:41 pm|**

Akari wasn't working today, but she decided to come here regardless. She had already asked Kohaku if she wanted to hang out today, but was told she had 'other plans'.

_That is so annoying. What the hell is it with her this year? Ever since Kei showed up, they've kept meeting up after school. And they never really tell me why!_

Angry, she went to grab a bubble tea, a strawberry one with cherry 'bubbles', and sat by a bench. Even at school, she could tell she was a third wheel, barely even acknowledged by the others. At least she still had Suzu, but she was at a family gathering today.

"Lame..." Akari said, sighing deeply. She drank her tea, but it didn't seem to soothe her nerves at all. It didn't seem fair. What were Kohaku and Shintaro doing with this exchange student that was so secretive? And what was the deal with those bizarre smartphones?

To make matters worse, her mother had been rather argumentative again, particular with regard to her studies. She would rather die than see Akari fail her entrance exams. Even though Akari was going to a cram school called Sentaiyo several times a week, it just wasn't enough for her. She just couldn't be the geniuses that Shintaro and Kohaku were.

"Is...is that why they're leaving me out of their meetings? Is Kei smart enough to hang out with them, but I'm...not?!" She said, to no one in particular. "I...I want to be like them! I want to be with them, but..."

"Hey now, what's wrong? That's not the happy girl I know!"

Akari looked up, and gasped. Standing next to her was a rather worried looking Kaii. He sat next to her, having bought himself a bubble tea of his own, but it was a matcha variety.

"Did you...hear me just now?" Akari said, red in the face. "I'm sorry, I..."

"Don't be. Feeling left out is a part of life. At least, it is for me..." Kaii said. "I didn't have a lot of friends back where I came from. Just an aunt and uncle who only put up with me because no one else would."

"...That's so horrible." Akari said, sadly. "But you've made friends in Shinshuto, right?"

"Well, yeah..." Kaii said. "There's my boy at home. Man's best friend, and I guess mine. The people in my apartment building are pretty nice, too. And the people at this job. Well, I have two jobs now."

"Really? What's the other one?" Akari asked. She had to tread carefully. She couldn't blab that she had overheard his conversation the other day. "You're not in the Yakuza or anything, are you?"

_Oh god, why did I say that? So much for treading carefully!_

To her surprise, Kaii burst out laughing. "Heck no! I'm not cut out to be in one of those clans! It's kinda a top secret job, though. Can't just go telling people about it."

"Well that's boring..." Akari said. "And here was me thinking you had a super awesome secret life."

Kaii smirked. "It's pretty exciting stuff, actually. And it finally feels like I'm making a difference. The best part is, it's one step closer to my goal."

"Your goal...?" Akari asked.

"It's a bit cliché, I know, but...I never knew my father." Kaii said. "I don't even know his name, where he came from, or whatever. All I knew is that he used to live in Shinshuto, but then he came to Tokyo. My mother died when I was little, so that's all I can really remember, and my aunt and uncle never met him..."

"So you want to meet him?" Akari asked. "...If you did, what would you say to him?"

"I really don't know..." Kaii said. "Maybe he doesn't even know I exist. If I turn up and tell him he's been a father for twenty years, it might ruin him. But...it's like this void inside me that I just can't fill. I want to meet my father...it's the not knowing that hurts."

"I'm so sorry, Kaii-kun..." Akari said. "Here I am whining about school, and you -"

"Whoa. Don't do that." Kaii said. "Your problems matter too. Come on, tell me all about it. I'm not working today, so I got some time to kill."

And so, Akari began to pour her heart out. How ever since she and her friends went to Bella Donna, it felt like a rift had grown between them. Like it felt like they were all marching together, and she was constantly trying to catch up, but never really reaching them. She wanted to be part of their big group, which apparently now included two other students from Chieki, but just couldn't seem to be included.

"I just...I just wish they'd tell me why I can't be with them." Akari said. "I don't know why it bothers me so much...I just want to feel like I belong. My parents don't understand, either. All they care about is me being some kind of wunderkind."

"You mean you're not?" Kaii asked, playfully. "You know way more about looking after animals than anyone I've ever met. I followed your advice about the food, and my boy's way happier when it's dinner time."

"He's eating again?" Akari asked. Kaii nodded, smiling. "That's great news!"

"I know." Kaii said. "Course, the apartment's still a mess, but it's just the two of us, so I can live with it."

"If you find your dad, I hope he likes dogs too." Akari said, innocently. "Or...I hope he's as kind as you are."

"Kind, huh...?" Kaii said to himself. "I don't get called that very much. Especially not in my boxing classes."

"What, you do boxing too?" Akari asked. "Just what kind of secret life are you leading?" She put on a playful grin.

_Come on, Akari, don't let him know that you know...you're smarter than that. I think._

"Obviously, a yakuza pugilist." Kaii said, laughing. Akari blinked in confusion. "...It's another word for boxer."

"Oh..." Akari said. "I guess I'm learning new stuff everyday."

"Let's go shop around. I gotta go somewhere in about a hour." Kaii said, happily.

They got up from their bench, and began exploring the mall. As they did, Akari couldn't help but blush whenever she stared at Kaii. Yes, as Shintaro had said, she did harbour a few crushes. Yet Kaii wasn't like all the others. He was kind, funny, and so optimistic about everything. Most importantly of all, he took the time to listen to what she had to say, and he never once made her worries seem less important.

They had left Book Wrym, Akari having purchased the first volume of a new Shoujo series, Kaii picking up a book about famous boxing bouts throughout the years. As they did, they were laughing out loud at one of his stories.

"You're kidding! Your dog actually did that?" Akari said, laughing.

"Yup! There I am, running all throughout Midori Park, chasing after a dog with a magenta wig in its mouth!" Kaii said, chuckling to himself. A few other shoppers stared at him, but he didn't care. He was in good spirits.

"Akiko's never done that..." Akari said. "Yet my mom is so mean to her. People mean to animals aren't good people."

"Whoa, that's your mother you're talking about." Kaii said. "You really think that?"

"Well...I dunno." Akari said. "I'm sorry...I should be grateful I have my parents at all."

"Hey, I don't want to make you feel guilty or awkward or anything...stop apologising." Kaii said. "Anyway, I've got to head off now. We'll meet up at work soon, okay?"

"Okay!" Akari said. She watched Kaii walk down the stairs to the ground floor, and towards the left. Sure enough, he saw him take his Gnosis out. She decided now was the time to get to the bottom of things. Carefully, she walked to the ground floor herself, and slowly, she inched closer to Kaii. She positioned herself behind a pillar near a vacant store, so that she would be mostly out of sight.

_Okay, Kaii, what are you up to this time?_

"...You don't  _sound_  okay, old guy." Kaii said, on the phone. His back was turned, so Akari couldn't see his face. Her heart was pounding. One wrong move, and she was in trouble. She had to be prepared to run at any moment. "You really still love him, huh? Screw his step-father. You should just find the kid and tell him how you feel."

_What are they talking about? Wait, I shouldn't really be eavesdropping..._

"I guess we'll have to get the Mizuho core back another time. That's too bad." Kaii said. "I couldn't get anywhere with Inoue Bank. This guy was skulking around, and he made it impossible to get in without him noticing. But I'm heading back there now. I'm gonna get those files no matter what it takes."

_Inoue Bank again...? Didn't one of their managers go missing recently?_

"No, you stay where you are. I can handle this. You gotta stop babying me sometime." Kaii said. Akari could hear some yelling from the other caller, but not clearly enough to make out what was being said. "Whoa, don't take it out on me. Once I'm done at Inoue, we'll meet up and we can unwind. I'll treat you to some sushi. Sound good?"

_Who is he talking to? Is he really a Yakuza after all?_

"Okay. Talk to you latter, man. Keep your chin up, you hear me?" Kaii said. The call ended, and he started looking up another app on his phone. Akari, now extremely curious, got ever closer to him, making sure she was quiet with every step. It seemed to be working. He hadn't picked up on her presence at all.

"Here we go, Totsuka...Inoue Bank front door..." Kaii said, to no one in particular. He was pushing his finger on a button, when he suddenly saw Akari's reflection on his screen. "What the hell?!"

"Ah!" Akari cried. Suddenly, she was enveloped by a white mist, and it felt like her body was moving through space and time...

**|Hiyashi – Page Turner|14:00 pm|**

Shintaro, despite his ordeal yesterday, had travelled to Page Turner, the biggest book store in Hiyashi, for one purpose. It was one of his favourite places in the entire city, for both academic texts and some of the best novels he had ever read. Celestine Courtois was here, greeting the fans of her Leanne Rouge series. He couldn't quite see her in the flesh just yet, due to the huge line in front of him, but he kept telling himself it would be well worth the wait.

_I've loved every book in the series. Especially Theatre of Death. How she does it, I don't know..._

He tried to think of what he knew of Celestine. She was French, obviously, and until recently had lived in her hometown of Bordeaux. It had taken her many years to get her first book published, and before then she was working in a solicitor's office. Even though she now lived in Shinshuto, she seemed to be rather elusive, only making appearances to publicise her books. Yet another fan from her official forum had seen her making quite a few trips to the rather exclusive Golden Dragon restaurant.

What Shintaro really wanted to talk to her about was Leanne Rouge, which told the tale of a 'supernatural detective' called Leanne Leveque. Her story began in the 1970's, when after escaping from what would have been a fatal accident, she became spiritually perceptive. Soon enough, she would befriend another gifted girl called Annette, who was a famous singer. The two of them thus began to delve into unsolved murders, making use of her new and frightening powers, and being forced to deal with shadowy cults and twisted enemies. After two books, Leanne had truly seen the darkest side of man's heart, but the worst was yet to come.

As he grew closer, he could hear her voice. She did speak fluent Japanese, but her thick French accent radiated, and set his heart racing. Only a few more people to go, he told himself. This was a woman with a true way with words, that even after being translated into Japanese, still told an engrossing, horrifying yet captivating tale. One that Shintaro simply couldn't tear himself away from.

In the previous book,  _Theatre of Death,_ Leanne and Annette would meet a new ally, the ghost of an actress called Fleuretta. This promising starlet was due to make her big screen debut, but before filming could be completed, she was horrifically stabbed to death by an unknown assailant, and her body was never found – yet her spirit wandered the earth, searching for ones who could track down her killer. This would take them to an abandoned film studio known for their horror movies, and an unreleased film reel supposedly cursed.

_I wonder what kind of book Celestine will write as she stays in Shinshuto? If only she knew there was a supernatural story all around her. Not that far from here, I was stuck in a studio myself. I probably shouldn't tell her that, though._

Finally, the last person in front left with their signed copy of  _Hail to the Blue Veil Society_ , and there she was in front of him, with that vivacious smile. Those curls of raven black hair, even more luxurious than they looked in all the posters hung up around the store. Her red blazer, with matching heels, as well as that fetching red brooch, all added up to a picture of beauty.

"H-Hi!" Shintaro said, blushing. She stared at him with that smile, and laughed.

"Good afternoon." Celestine said. "You've been waiting in line far longer than I expected someone your age to." She raised her gold pen, and Shintaro handed her his book, his face becoming redder and redder. He didn't want to see him like this, but he couldn't tear his eyes away, either. It was almost as if he was under her spell.

_C'mon Shintaro, you're a Persona user. You're supposed to have a strong mind. Act calm, act calm..._

"And what's your name, good sir?" Celestine asked.

"It's Shintaro Nakahara, Courtois-san."

"Ah...now that's a lovely name." Celestine said, with genuine warmth in her voice. "And thankfully, I can write it in kanji for you. Unless you'd rather have it in hiragana? Or perhaps English?"

"Anything's fine at all!" Shintaro said. "Your handwriting is beautiful anyway!"

_Did I just say that?! Couldn't I have phrased that in a more dignified manner? Ugh..._

Celestine, rather than frown, merely chuckled as she signed the book. As she handed it back to him, he smiled brightly.

"Thank you so much. I've loved every single book you've written, honestly. Especially Theatre of Death."

"I trust you'll enjoy the  _Hail to the Blue Veil Society_  even more." Celestine said. She looked around, and smiled. "This city is quite charming, and full of kind-hearted people. Even with Bythos lurking around every corner, I'm enjoying my stay here. I'm already writing the first chapter of my next book, actually..."

"Working hard as always!" Shintaro said, laughing. "I'm in Totsuka myself. It's a great place -"

"I know. The Divine Nine is an architectural wonder." Celestine remarked. "As is Sogen Park. Beauty is all around us, even if we just don't realise it. Even if you can't convince others, you can find beauty in everything."

"Heh...you're right!" Shintaro said. "I'm a student of Kansei High School myself, so I'm surrounded by beauty – sort of."

Celestine looked surprised. "You're still in school? But you seem such a wise young man, just from the way you carry yourself. Well, you'll go far, I'm sure of that. I'm expecting great things from you – and everyone who's taken the time to read my tomes, of course."

"...You're too kind." Shintaro said. "Honestly, I just love reading. Always have. It's something I've inherited from my father, and of course my grandfather. He was a -"

"My goodness...your last name sounded familiar, and now I just realized why!" Celestine said. "Was he Genichiro Nakahara?!"

"...You know him?!" Shintaro asked.

"I know his work, to be exact. My father bought me a copy of  _Silver's Pain_  when he went travelling, many years ago now. It's a fascinating, haunting tale. To think it sold so few copies...it's a tragedy." Celestine said, melancholic. "It was quite an inspiration for me. Whenever I have writer's block, I read through it again and again. I wish I could have spoken to him and ask him about the deeper meaning behind it..."

"So do I." Shintaro said. "I...I only had one copy of the book. But it...it got lost..."

"...I'm sorry." Celestine said, sadly. "It must be fate, meeting you here. You're clearly a keen reader, but what about writing? Do you intend to pen a tale of your own?"

"I haven't really thought about writing a book myself...but a lot's happened recently. Maybe it's time I produced something I can show to the whole world..." Shintaro said. Now, his mind was seriously processing this idea. To become a novelist, like his grandfather. Would he flounder as well? Or did the only thing that matter was that he could inspire people like Celestine?

"Like I said, I'm expecting tremendous things from you." Celestine said, with a twinkle in her eye. "I'm afraid I don't have much time. There's a queue behind you still, and I have a dinner rendezvous planned later."

"Ah, I see. Sorry, we got carried away." Shintaro said. "But it was really great to finally meet you. Honestly."

"Same to you, Shintaro. Why don't we speak again at a later opportunity? It'd be woeful to never see your face again." Celestine asked. She quickly grabbed a notepad, tore off a scrap of paper, and wrote on it in breakneck speed. Soon, she was done, and swiftly pressed the note into Shintaro's palm. "Now, run along. I'll see you again in this fair city someday. Perhaps sooner than you think, Monsieur Nakahara."

"Oh, I hope so!" Shintaro said. "Thank you so much. Best of luck with your next book! I'll be waiting!"

He left the book store, his heart still racing. As he went through one of Hiyashi's shopping streets, he took a look at the note in his hand. On it was a phone number, and also a note written in kanji:

" **Although my sorrow is deeper than the ocean, I would swim through a thousand leagues for an eternity with you."**

_That's a quote from Silver's Pain! She knows that book by heart. That settles it. I have to see her again. Maybe I can see another copy of that book. We can talk more about her own books! Maybe my own hopes, my dreams...!_

He stopped for a moment, and tried to clear his mind. He was getting a little excited, but he couldn't help himself. Ever since what happened with Masato and Rokurou, he had given up hope of seeing another copy of his grandfather's magnum opus, one the world would never appreciate. Yet he and Celestine recognised the beauty of the story.

"...Okay." Shintaro said. "I'll call her sometime. Celestine is even more amazing than I thought!" He went to his regular phone, and saved the number to his list of contacts. Once again, he was smitten with an older woman. Yet it felt different this time. Perhaps fate truly had meant for them to meet.

_She's not just an author to me now. She's someone that must just become a good friend. At least, that's what I hope she becomes. Although of course, I'm fighting Shadows with my other friends. ...And I've been ignoring Akari quite a bit lately. I hope she's not feeling too left out. I'll talk to Kohaku about it and see what we can do._

**|Theio Kosmos - Inoue Bank – Lobby|15:03 pm|**

"Ugh..."

Akari opened her eyes. She was now in a dimly lit room, a gigantic reception hall filled with chairs, huge wall-length windows, and an aquarium that was glowing a bright blue. She sat up, and saw a huge logo above the reception desk. In it, in English writing, was Inoue Bank, with the kanji below it in red.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Akari asked. "And...where is everybody?"

"Akari? You're okay? You were out cold for ages!"

Akari gasped, and stood up, still drowsy. She saw someone sitting across from her, getting up. It was Kaii, but he had a thick blue coat over his usual clothes now, as well as azure fingerless gloves.

"I'm fine, I guess, but...what just happened?" Akari asked. "Why are we in Inoue Bank's main offices? And where the hell did you buy that coat from?"

"Forget the coat, Akari - what were you doing spying on me?" Kaii asked, looking annoyed. "I didn't want you getting involved with this. Not you or anyone else."

"Involved with what?" Akari asked. "Are you going to steal something from here?"

"I...well..." Kaii said. He looked around, anxious. "Doesn't look like anyone's here but us just now. Phew...let's go somewhere out of sight."

"What? But there are cameras everywhere here!" Akari said, bewildered.

"They won't see us. Trust me." Kaii said. Akari decided she needed to see for herself what was going on. Thus, she followed Kaii through the stairs, and into a small meeting room. There, he got her a cup of cold water, and they sat down.

"So how do you figure these security cameras can't see us? Do you have the Invisibility Cloak or something?" Akari asked.

"Akari...this isn't a joke. Not to me." Kaii said. "This might look like the real world, but it's actually another state of reality. It's called the Theio Kosmos, which lies parallel to our world – the Akartharto Kosmos."

"...What?" Akari said, frowning. She had never heard anything like this – other than Shintaro's impromptu book reviews at school. "This is some other world that just looks like ours, but isn't?"

"That's sort of right, yeah. I was really surprised when I saw it for the first time, too. For a moment, I thought it was Armageddon, Ragnarok, you know, the end of the world." Kaii said. "People don't live in this world, but these things called 'Shadows' do. They're beings born from humanity's repressed emotions, or so our boss told us. Some of them are like angels, others are more like monsters. There's a lot of different kinds -"

"Hold on. Monsters? Angels? This sounds more like a JRPG." Akari asked. "...You're not making this up, are you?"

"Nope." Kaii said. "Thing is, there's a way to fight them. If you have something called a Persona, you can take them on. And in this world, you need one of these to be able to summon one reliably. It's really hard without one."

He took out his Gnosis, and Akari gasped. This definitely was the same type of phone she had seen her friends at school use. And Keiya, too. So were they involved with 'Personas' and 'Shadows' too?

"Okay, so what's the point of this world? Is it just so you can mess around with your Persona and kill Shadows?"

"Well, I do that to get stronger. But this world affects the other in many ways." Kaii said. "The team I'm part of is trying to use this world to expose the corruption that's entrenched within this city. That's why I'm here. We think one of the fat cats at this bank – as in a really rich employee, not a rotund feline – is hiding something here they really don't want anyone to know. I've been tasked with trying to get that data..."

_Okay Kaii, now isn't really the time to be cracking jokes. Not when you're breaking into a bank. This is against the law, even if you're using an alternate dimension or whatever to do it._

"I don't...I don't really get it." Akari said. "So you're part of a group that's trying to blow the whistle on major businesses like Inoue Bank? You're in major trouble if you get caught, mister! We're talking jail!"

"You think I don't know that? I might have failed the entrance exams, but I'm not that dumb." Kaii said, angrily. He walked over to the glass door, but couldn't see anything, and went back to the table. "It isn't just businesses. It goes all the way to the city government. Maybe even beyond there. Our group has the power to fight in this world, and also control it. We can use that to bring justice where the police can't."

"Huh. So you're not just some guy that works in a pet store. You really did have a double life, but..." Akari mumbled, unable to look her colleague in the eye. "This is...insane."

"I guess it really is." Kaii said. "Before I joined, I had given up all hope of finding my dad here. I just didn't have anything to go on. Nothing that seemed likely. So, I was about to go grab a train somewhere, it didn't really matter where. Then this girl comes up to me, and gives me the Gnosis. Her name was Nisa Liat, and she said that if I helped her, she would help find my father."

"...All of this really is for your dad?" Akari asked. She reached forward, and grabbed Kaii's hands. He stared at her, and nodded.

"It's like I said earlier. It's just this emptiness inside me that I can't get rid of. Not until I know who he is. Maybe he's long dead, or he doesn't want to know me. But there's a chance he might want to see me, make up for lost time. I...I just want to know where I came from. Maybe I even have a brother, a sister...who knows?" Kaii said. "I've only been in Bythos for a few weeks now. But I've got a feeling that someday soon, I'm going to find him."

"Kaii..." Akari said. "Is it worth doing something so scary? Forget the police, if these Shadows are as scary as they sound, you could die!"

"...Don't look so worried." Kaii said, gently. "My Persona is really strong. And my boxing classes have helped me fight even better, too. Point is, I don't have any other leads. Being one of Bytho's Aeon Administrators is the only way."

"Okay...I understand." Akari said. "I'm sorry for spying on you today, I just...I heard you the other day as well. When you were talking about doing something at this building, I got really scared...but you don't seem afraid at all.."

"Well, a lot of is just me trying to act cool. Like at work, when I joke around with the boss and the rest of you kids. Course, this is a lot more dangerous..." Kaii said. "But it's all worth it in the end. We're making the city a better place. I just wonder if I'll still have to help them after I find my dad. But we've been here long enough."

"Kaii..." Akari said. "You know you can talk to me whenever you want, right? I know I'm just a stupid high school student, but I want to be your friend."

Kaii smiled, and helped Akari up from her seat. "Of course we're friends, Akari-chan. I'm glad I came to this city. I'm not alone anymore, even if I still haven't found my old man. But right now, I've got to find a way to get you home."

"Can't you just use that app again?" Akari asked.

"...Something's wrong." Kaii said, annoyed. "There's interference. Listen, stay by my side. You don't have a Gnosis, or even a Persona, so you'll not be able to fight any Shadows."

"Okay..." Akari said, worried. "I'll stick by you. I trust you, Kaii."

They left the meeting room, and Kaii told Akari to wait as he checked the lobby. Almost immediately, he came running back to the corridor.

"What?!" Akari asked. "The heck is happening?!"

"We've got company!" Kaii said. "Dammit, that rocker guy is outside!"

"Who are you talking about?" Akari asked. "Talk sense already -"

"I'll explain later! Just follow me! I promise I'll take you back home!" Kaii shouted. He grabbed Akari's hand, and ran as fast as he could. He found one of the elevators, and input a code. As soon as he got on, he made it go to the highest floor, the rooftop gardens. It shot up the floors. During the ascent, Akari was quiet, scared, but Kaii was even more anxious.

**|Asakita, Where Joy Gathers – Sakura Dormitory|14:30 pm|**

"Wow..."

Kohaku had just arrived in Asakita, and immediately saw the giant ferris wheel and rollercoaster of the eponymous theme park. This was by far the best area for children of the city, with colourful, family-themed entertainment everywhere. There were countless mascot characters handing out balloons, smaller parks with plenty of slides and swings, and many bright, cheerful looking statues and signs.

The Sakura Dormitory, in comparison, seemed rather ordinary, with a light pink brick facade and a careful arrangement of flowers and trees around the front. Yet it was still a charming place, and compared to most of the city, it had an old-fashioned charm. Only a few doors away was the Wakahisa Toy Store, a small but popular shop that had been going for many years. Without much better to do, Kohaku had decided to surprise Kei with a visit.

As if on cue, Kei walked outside of the store, and for the first time ever, she had been seen – by Kohaku, anyway – in casual clothing. It was a simple black long-sleeved shirt, with silver diamond designs around the cuffs, and a pair of blue jeans. Even so, she had her trademark hairpin.

"Oh! Kohaku-chan, I wasn't expecting you here!" Kei said.

"Hi!" Kei said. "I wanted to surprise you. That, and I wanted to check out this dorm. It looks really nice. What's it like on the inside?"

"It's a secret facility where we experiment on students and turn them into psychic weapons." Kei said. "...Or just really pretty."

Kohaku chuckled. It seemed like Reia's brand of humour was rubbing off on Kei. "I bet. Look at all the blossom trees around this building. No wonder it's called Sakura."

"It's too bad you and Shintaro don't stay here. It'd make this dorm a lot more fun." Kei said. "But at least you're here now. Why don't I show you around Asakita for today?"

"Show me around? I thought you were the exchange student, not me!" Kohaku said.

"Exploring Asakita daily helps me know the area inside out. Follow me, like you do when we're fighting Shadows. Just don't try to summon Airmid, though, or they'll think we're nuts."

And so, the two girls went on their merry way, taking in the vibrant life that nearly every building had on display. Before long, the two of them were in the theme park, a wondrous place filled with neon lights, exciting rides, and happy, laughing children. Yet Kohaku wasn't feeling quite so happy about going up the Olympus Rollercoaster.

"Um..." Kohaku said, staring up at the huge structure. "...Are you sure you've done this before?"

"Yes, I was with one of the other girls at the dorm. We were just fine – and they provide bags in case you feel sick, too!" Kei said, almost cheery.

"Well, you only live once..." Kohaku said. The two of them took their seat in the ride, but others were getting, so they had a few moments until it set off. The music aficionado tried to relax, but the huge incline on the track in front of her made her gulp.

"Is it that scary?" Kei asked. "Reia would be all 'it's no big deal'. She'd probably run up it on her own two feet."

"...I'm not as strong as her." Kohaku said. "All I am is a girl who gets good grades and loves music. I never even thought about doing anything to protect this city."

"We were all thrust into the situation." Kei said. "But you've never ran away from this, have you? You're still with us."

"Yeah, of course I am. And I always will be." Kohaku said. "But...I just don't want to be weak. Like I was when I fought Toki. That kind of power he possessed...I want to reach it. No, I want to exceed it!"

"That's the first step." Kei said. "Like everything, it all starts with one firm decision. If you really want to become more powerful, as a medic or a warrior, then you just need to work for it, one small step at a time."

"How did you become so wise, Kei...?" Kohaku asked, curious. "You learn it from Yokohama?"

"Yes...sort of." Kei said, looking aside. "It's not been easy, though. More than anything, it's been...lonely, up until now."

"...What do you mean?" Kohaku asked.

"I told you about my aunt, right?" Kei said. "She...used to live here, sixteen years ago. An exchange student, like me. In fact, she stayed at Sakura too. In the same room I'm in."

Kohaku looked at her in surprise. She had never heard Kei go into this much detail about her family before. "Sixteen years ago?! Your aunt?"

"Yes. In fact, she went to Kansei High School. But then..." Kei said, sadly. "She passed away before she could finish her year of schooling there. A lot of other students perished..."

_What? That's the first I've ever heard of anything like this!_

"Kohaku, you know the courtyard round the back of the school, right?" Kei said. Kohaku nodded, unsteadily. It seemed almost as if time had frozen, as she listened to this tale. "There's a memorial garden there. Nine small stones are arranged towards the back, out of sight. There's writing on each one, but it's too hard to read them anymore. Apart from the one in the centre. That's my aunt's. I can still make out some of her name."

"...What happened to her and the other students?" Kohaku asked.

"I don't know..." Kei said. "No one knows. Everyone I've asked doesn't even seem to remember it. Not even you knew, right?"

"Y-Yeah...I thought I knew everything there was to know about Kansei. I never knew about your aunt until now..."

Kei looked at the sky, and wiped away one of her tears. "I only got to see her the one time she was a student at our school. She loved all of her friends there. I still have all my letters from her. I know, old-fashioned, but she loved writing. Calligraphy was one of her favourite hobbies."

"I wish I could have met her..." Kohaku said.

Kei looked at her, strangely. "...My aunt will always be in my heart. That's what I keep telling myself. I just wonder. But that's enough sad talk. We've got to get through this!"

"Huh? Oh, right. I guess – WHOA!"

The rollercoaster soon hurled through the ride, going through loops, ups and downs. Kohaku spent most of the ride screaming, as all of Asakita raced past her eyes. Yet Kei next to her seemed to be having the time of her life, cheering with every new surprise. Soon, the ride was over, and the girls left.

"...I'm never going on that thing again!" Kohaku said, dizzy, as she was supported by her friend onto the firm ground. Several other guests of the park gave her amused smirks, but swiftly fled when she gave them a few dark glares.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it's part of your training." Kei said. "You feel stronger after doing that, right?"

"Huh? Well, maybe a little." Kohaku said. "...Let's go try another ride! Something gentler though. I know, the tea cups!"

"...Whatever you wish." Kei said, amused. The two went off, giggling to themselves. Today was a fun day, yet also a day to be remembered. For she and Kei had finally become closer as friends, not simply comrades.

**|Inoue Bank – Rooftop|15:22 pm|**

"Phew..." Kaii said, as they ran outside. The roof area was filled with wooden lunch tables and benches, attractive lush green plants, bright carefully arranged flowers, and even a majestic looking water feature in the shape of a well.

"We're safe here, right?" Akari asked. "You should have brought a helicopter or something as an emergency vehicle."

"Relax, we'll be fine. And I don't even have my motorcycle licence yet." Kaii said, relieved. "...That guy I was talking about. There are other Persona users that aren't on our side. He's one of them. Seems like they know I'm after top secret data from this bank, and they're trying to catch me."

"He didn't see you, did he?" Akari asked.

"No, he had his back turned." Kaii said. "But I didn't want to take any chances. Besides, right now the most important thing is getting you home. Akari-chan, you won't tell anyone about any of this, right? That means your parents, your friends at school, even Akiko!"

_The other Persona users that are against you. My friends from school are part of them, aren't they? Does that mean Kaii is going to end up fighting Kohaku-chan? I really hope not...but this place is scary, even if I haven't seen any Shadows yet. I better do as he says for now, and think about it more at home._

"Of course I won't." Akari said, nodding. "That's a promise. From me to you."

"...Thanks." Kaii said, relieved. "Okay. Let's try this."

He opened the app, and tried to select a destination of places throughout Shinshuto – specifically, Bella Donna. However, nothing happened.

"Why isn't it doing anything?" Akari asked. "Is there still interference?"

"Not anymore, but...huh?!" Kaii said. He stared in frustration at the error message that appeared in front of him.

**User 'Akari Ito' Unawakened.**

**Unawakened Users Must Awaken Before Transportation.**

**Only User 'Kaii Murayama' Can Transport.**

"What the hell?!" Akari asked. "So...you can go back, but I'm stuck here?! And how does it know my name?"

"...Dammit!" Kaii said, angry. "Akari, it means...you need a Gnosis of your own."

"What?" Akari asked. "...But I don't have one at all!"

"Calm down. I've got a spare one here." Kaii said. He pulled out another Gnosis from his pocket, a light blue one. The minute Akari touched it, however, it flashed, and changed colour to black, like the others she had seen.

"Wait, what?" Akari said, holding the handset up close. "But..."

Kaii was shocked. From the look on his face, he hadn't expected the phone to change colour either. He looked it up and down, in awe. The screen suddenly flashed with a message.

**Pre-installed Persona 'Cu Sith' deleted. Pre-Awakened User detected.**

"What...what does that mean, Kaii? What's a Cu Sith?"

"Some kind of fairy dog, but whatever!" Kaii said. "This means...you could be one of us."

Before he could continue, the two of them heard loud footsteps.

"No. I won't allow that. Not while you're finally within reach."

Akari screamed, clinging to Kaii, while he stood there, startled. Whoever it was that just spoke, he didn't sound nearly as kind or as soothing as Kaii. He had a tough, domineering tone to his voice.

"You don't look like a hardened criminal. I guess not everyone in Bythos is as big a loser as Toki Hayashi." The man said.

Akari looked closely, trying to calm her nerves. She had seen his man before somewhere. Perhaps it was on a poster in a store, but she wasn't sure. What she did know was that his tanned skin, his electric blue hair, and the black bandanna, all were quite striking. Even his jacket, with multiple shades of sea blue, was familiar.

"Kaii..." Akari said, stepping back, as Kaii approached the man.

"Who do you think you are?!" Kaii asked. "Don't talk shit about Toki. He's like a bro."

"You must be hard up of role models if  _that_ 's the man you call a brother." the man said, rolling his eyes. "But right now, it's just me and you. Well, and that girl."

"You leave her out of this..." Kaii said, cracking his knuckles.

"I'm not the one that brought her here in the Theio Kosmos, am I?" The man said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever data you've found, I'll be taking it back right now. If it's on your Gnosis, I'll be confiscating that too."

Kaii sighed, rolling his eyes. "Look, I've not got any corporate data from this stupid bank on me. My friend ended up getting warped here with me, and I'm trying to find a way to get her back home. Can't you help a brother out?"

"Yeah...you aren't any friend of mine, dude. Your group have been causing us a lot of problems, starting from spreading your damn propaganda everywhere." The punk said, taking out his own Gnosis. "Kaii, was it? You're coming with me. Believe me, we have some skilled interrogators in our ranks. And I'll see to it that this girl gets back home. Quite honestly, I don't trust you."

"Damn, are you really gonna fight me?" Kaii asked, staring at his enemy darkly.

"No, I wanted to swap numbers so we could go out for some cappuccino. Of  _course_  I want to fight! Ever since we heard weird stuff was happening at the bank, I've been keeping an eye out for you...and now here we are. Per -"

"Wait a moment. You're Netuno Fonseca!" Akari shouted. "That guy Kohaku likes!"

"Kohaku?" Both men asked. They stared at each other, blinked, then turned back to Akari.

"Yeah! You remember, Kaii, she's the friend from school I was telling you about. She's got one of those weird phones too!"

Akari gasped. With all she had just learned, she hadn't even grasped the bigger picture. Ever since that day Kei bought her phone, the three other Kansei students had been able to go into this world and fight Shadows. Yet they had also gotten in the way of Bythos, from the sounds of things.

"Then you're one of her classmates from Kansei High School?" Netuno asked.

"Yes! Her, Shintaro, and Kei!" Akari said. "...They're not in Bythos, are they?"

Netuno shook his head. "Absolutely not. After all, one of their members abducted Shintaro not so long ago. Didn't you wonder why he was absent from Kansei yesterday?"

Akari gasped, and turned to Kaii. "...You guys  _kidnapped_  him?! What did Shintaro-kun ever do to you?!"

"It wasn't me! I wasn't given any orders to do with him! All I was asked to do was get something from here...something we really need!" Kaii said, desperately. "Please, Akari...I need Bythos. It's the only way. That Gnosis you've got right now. You saw it turn black, don't you? It means you've got the potential!"

"The potential to join either side." Netuno said. "Akari, do you realise what joining Bythos would mean? You'd become a criminal. One of their members, the same age as you, is responsible for the deaths of two young men, all because one of her plots went to shit."

"Asami only wanted justice!" Kaii said, annoyed. "What, was it okay to just let the bastard go on living carefree? When her three best friends had to suffer him for so long?"

Netuno sighed. "Had she not tried to force him to feel remorse, he might still be alive. And her best friend – well, probably not anymore – almost got killed in the process."

"That wasn't Asami's fault! They thought EX-NIHILO was gone, they never thought he'd come back and try to absorb Natsumi!"

"Excuses..." Netuno said. "Enough. If you aren't going to surrender, then I'll have to take you by force. Persona!"

Akari gasped at what happened next. Netuno's body was surrounded by a peculiar blue air, and from that air arose something far from human. It wore a long trenchcoat, in dark blue, that seemed to have a strange water effect on the bottom – as like the ebb and flow of the tide. While this covered most of the being's body, with a high collar studded with gold, Akari could make out a faint blue skin, and shining green eyes. It also had a giant navy mohawk, designed to look like a wave crashing onto the shore.

"What the hell?!" Akari said out loud.

The being held out its right hand, and a giant oar appeared out of nowhere. It was made out of steel, and had glowing yellow and teal designs on it that made it look more like the guitar Netuno had equipped.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Tam Kung...I forecast a storm that will never end, not until you have breathed your last!"**

"Yeah, sorry buddy, but I don't plan on dying at sea. Your storm's gonna go on for a long time." Kaii said, chuckling to himself. "I can beat that Persona in a heartbeat! Go!"

Materialising from Kaii's Gnosis into the world was a figure with a smile just as genuine as Kaii's, at least, Akari thought so. His skin was yellow, and his hair was somewhat like Kaii's, except white and even more untidy, and he had a thick bushy beard. He wore a pale green vest, with a red flowing scarf around his neck, and his hands had thick-looking knuckle dusters. This Persona seemed more muscular than Tam Kung, yet less refined.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Grannus, he of the springs who shall soothe all mine allies and heal their wounds!"**

"It's a shame you're not on my side..." Kaii said. "My healing spells have already come in handy for my friends."

"Well, good for them." Netuno said, frowning. "But if you're gonna waste all your time healing yourself, then you'll just run out of steam. It's like opening a gig with your most famous song – no one wants to sit around afterwards for the more obscure stuff."

"Ah, we all got our problems. Mine being you." Kaii said. "Atomic Scissors!"

Grannus gathered a sphere of light blue energy, which formed itself into a pair of huge shears. With them, Grannus cut at Netuno, sending sparks of nuclear energy everywhere.

"Kaii?!" Akari shouted.

"Don't get involved..." Kaii said, looking back at her. "It's too dangerous. You don't even have any weapons. Just leave this guy to me – he'll be out of the charts in no time."

"Hardly...our album's getting a lot of airplay." Netuno said, reeling from the attack. "You've got no chance of overtaking me! Tam Kung!"

The Persona started to strum the strange oar-guitar, and as it played its Hydro Chord, the strings vibrated, and sent forth blue waves of piercing water, hitting Kaii backwards. Conscious of how high up he was, he looked around, and grimaced.

"Damn!" Kaii said. Netuno did not let up, however. He rushed at Kaii, and swung his guitar without mercy. However, he was quickly blindsided by a mighty punch to the gut, then punched hard to the ground.

"Guys! Wait a second!" Akari pleaded.

"It's too late, Akari..." Kaii said. "It's like I told you. Bythos will help me out, and I can't let this Z-lister stop me - whoa!"

Netuno swung at Kaii's leg, and narrowly missed. Furiously, he called down Tam Kung, and attacked with a fierce Zionga. Kaii screamed, the electrical current surging through his body. Even with his Persona enhancing his resilience, it seemed like he was struggling to bear the pain.

"Stop it! Do you want to kill him?!" Akari screamed.

"I'm not like his group. I've no intention of killing Kaii." Netuno said. "Thanks to his group, the people of this city are uneasy. They're suspicious of everything and anything...I came to this city because it had the heart and soul of festivity. I want to bring that back!"

"You stupid..." Kaii said under his breath. "You stupid bastard! The only reason we exist is because of what that Mayor's been up to. You don't even have any idea, do you? How many people she's screwed over or kept quiet...that'll all come to light! Grannus!"

The brawler Persona slammed the ground with his fist, casting a powerful Freila – exploding around Netuno. Akari shut her eyes, shaking. This didn't seem real at all. How long would this go on for? Could Kaii really defeat the frontman of Electric Sea?

**|Ginumi – Hideki & Setsuna's House|15:45 pm|**

Natsumi and Masato had elected to spend dinner at their brother's house, a newly built property in Ginumi complete with an outdoor pool and a large balcony on the second floor. Gleaming white, it was in a neighbourhood send to be the 'Golden Pearl'.

The twins and the newly hired teacher were sitting around the stylish glass table in the middle of their gorgeous art-deco lounge, complete with a state of the art 4K TV that Hideki mostly used for his video gaming. The walls were light cream, with various dark ornaments around that were mementos of his travels.

"Wow. Wish our house was more like this." Masato said.

"Yeah. There's no smell of sake anywhere." Natsumi said,

"It's always nice having you two here. It gives us a chance to whine about our parents and be ourselves." Hideki said. "...A teacher shouldn't talk like that, should he?"

"Maybe not, but there's worse teachers out there." Natsumi said. "Remember that guy last year who won the Olympic medal? Didn't he do something really terrible?"

"Oh yeah! I forgot all about that. About a year ago now." Masato said. "Last year was pretty crazy in Tokyo. But at least we didn't end up with that bald guy as a Prime Minister."

"Amen to that." Hideki said, relieved. "After hearing about what he was up to, it's clear we dodged a major bullet there. This year should be much better for Japan."

_I'm not so sure, Hideki. Bythos are planning something terrible, even worse than what they've already done. But how far are they going to go to get the next Cognition Core? They tried to kidnap Shintaro. I hope he got to see the French lady after all._

"It's good to see you two again. After spending so many dinners with your mother, it's nice to know that Hideki's family aren't all crazy self-righteous lunatic harpies."

Walking in with drinks for the group was Setsuna Kon, a glamorous young lawyer, dressed in her smart blue blazer and black trousers. Her hair was long, black and and shimmered in the light, and she embodied grace with every single step she took. Ever since Hideki's proposal during their holiday in Okinawa, she had worn a silver engagement ring adorned with a deep blue sapphire.

"I know, right?" Hideki said, laughing, as he drank some ginger beer. The twins looked at each other awkwardly. "So, what's going on with your friend Asami? Apparently she's on hiatus?"

"Um..." Natsumi said, biting her lip. Her mind was racing. What could she say that wouldn't be suspicious? Masato knew the whole story by now, but there was no way she could just blab to Hideki. Even if he was her older brother. And getting Setsuna involved was out of the question. "She needs some time to cool off and focus on her studies. But she'll be back making videos."

"What, you're into her channel? I thought you had cooler tastes than that, bro." Masato said.

"You little ass..." Hideki said, chuckling, ruffling the baseball fanatic's hair. Being around his younger siblings always seemed to bring him out in laughter and smiles, which made him so approachable. The twins had always felt more comfortable around him then their parents. Even when he got mad at them, for discovering just how ticklish he was. They exploited that greatly, of course.

"He's trying to keep up with what his students are into, of course. Not trying desperately to cling onto his last semblance of youth or anything." Setsuna said, with a sly grin.

"Aww, not you too! I'm not even thirty yet!" Hideki said. "You're mean, even for a lawyer!"

"But in all seriousness, he's still sort of in college project mode. You know, trying to understand the struggles people in high school face, their hobbies, who they're inspired be." Setsuna said. "Your job doesn't get nearly enough credit these days."

"I wish you were in our school, not Kansei." Natsumi said. "I hate that meanie Koyanagi-sensei."

"Ah, Shiro's a pain. Heart as black as the night." Masato said. "And he never cuts me a break. Everyone at school hates him..."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Setsuna said. "I mean, not every teacher is charismatic, handsome, charming, and talented as my fiancé, I understand that much. But surely this Koyanagi fellow is a capable teacher."

"He's capable, but...he's just so apathetic about it. He doesn't  _care_. He expects way too much of us. Whenever we have classes with him, I just pray he won't pick on me when I don't know the answer..." Natsumi said. "And he's no oil painting, either."

"Hmm...well, he doesn't have to be. Teaching isn't a beauty contest. Go easier on your teachers. They're trying their best, even if you don't know it." Hideki said, wisely.

"But on a happier note, haven't you finally patched things up with your old friends?" Setsuna asked.

"Um...yeah, that's right!" Masato said, cheerily. "Me and Shintaro are cool again. It wasn't easy making up with him, though. But we had a little helping hand."

"Yeah, that's right. Kei helped bring us together again. She's a girl at Kansei, all the way from Yokohama. And she's really cool." Natsumi said. "So the old gang of four is now...well, a gang of five."

Setsuna smiled. "That's good news. After what happened back then, I was worried about you two. We were scratching our heads, trying to figure out how to help you both, and now...it looks like you're doing just fine."

_I don't know about fine. Shintaro getting kidnapped, what happened at the Kaleidoscope, that weirdo EX-NIHILO nearly killing Masato and me...but I don't think I'll bring that up. It's hard enough being near Asami at school. Everyone's wondering why we aren't talking. But I can't just pretend to be her best friend after what she did. I nearly died because of her stupid plan._

"...Are you okay, sis?" Hideki asked, worried. "You were lost in thought just now."

"Oh...yeah, I'm fine." Natsumi said. "I...I still feel guilty about what I did to Kohaku, but she's...she's got a heart of gold. Or amber, I guess. Oh! Setsuna, want to see some of my new dress designs?"

"Oh, of course!" Setsuna said. "Did you finally finish off that pink summer dress you were talking about?"

"Yeah, I did. It's going to look amazing!" Natsumi said, pulling out her regular smartphone. She showed her photo gallery to Setsuna, who browsed through most of the dresses, smiling. As she did, Natsumi's mind wandered again. She had fought one of the Aeon Admins of Bythos yesterday, but failed to do much to stop him. Gaining Brigid was supposed to be a new start for her, yet her fire barely even scorched Toki.

_I can't let that happen again. Ever. My Persona and I are one and the same. If I become stronger, so does she. I can't back down._

**|Inoue Bank HQ – Rooftop|16:03 pm|**

The dark clouds broke into a huge rainstorm, and thunder could be heard rumbling. Akari was now drenched, but she was too transfixed by this battle to care. Nuclear and electric power had been volleyed at each opponent in equal force, yet somehow the building still stood. Kaii lurched forward, avoiding Netuno's guitar, and hit him hard in the face, full of rage.

"Damn! Why the hell can't you guys just leave me alone?!" Kaii screamed.

"How freaking dense are you?" Netuno asked. "Bythos can't be allowed to do as they please. Not after what they did to Leonor's..."

"What?" Kaii asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't even know about that, huh? Maybe they just don't trust you that much. I mean, you're pretty strong, but you're pretty dim-witted even for Bythos." Netuno said.

"Oh, c'mon!" Kaii said, frustrated. He punched Netuno hard in the face, and ducked under the guitar. With a swift roll away, he summoned Grannus again. "I'm...I'm going all out! Spring of Hope!"

A powerful geothermal spring appeared beneath Kaii, it's energy flowing through his body and soothing some of his wounds. Netuno, sighing, beckoned Tam Kung.

"Dynamo Strings!"

The Persona played a short melody on its oar-guitar, and yellow guitar strings appeared and surrounded Kaii, constricting him. They then began slowly electrocuting him, so loudly they even drowned out Akari's screams. Kaii fell to the floor, the rain lashing down on him, and he could barely move a muscle.

"...Is that it?" Netuno said, panting for breath. He brushed a hand through his wet hair, and smirked. "Is that as far as you can go?"

"Go to hell..." Kaii said, finally getting on both feet. "I won't lose...not until I find...what I've been looking for all this time...!"

"And what would that be?" Netuno asked.

"I dunno...maybe you letting your guard down?" Kaii said, smirking.

Panicked, Netuno turned around – only to be cut down by the radioactive energy of Atomic Scissors. Not leaving it there, Kaii grabbed Netuno, and rained down his fists even harder than the storm that was occurring right there and now.

Akari stood there, in shock. Kaii simply couldn't control himself anymore. She had to do something, but what?

"Kaii Murayama! Stop this. Immediately!" She screamed.

"...Akari?" Kaii said, finally stopping his brutality. He held Netuno by the collar of his jacket, however. "What are you doing?"

"I can't join you. Not after what you've become." Akari said, sadly. "If you really want to find your long lost father, that's fair enough. But do you want him to see you like this? Beating a man to death?! I can't help you...I won't!"

"Akari-chan, please!" Kaii said, tearfully. "We're the only ones who know what's really going on around here. And I thought we were friends."

"So did I..." Akari said. "But not while you're like this. I can't allow it."

She felt a strong sense of clarity now. As if all her feelings were coming to her, clearer than before. A strong desire for a peaceful world. Far more than just being a silly girl who loved animals, she saw the true side of her. Someone who loved the world and life itself. And someone who wanted to protect the innocent, the weak...without resorting to sin to do so. Purity swelled within Akari, and it was ready to manifest.

**One who bears the burden of potential, heed my voice. My name is Philemon. Your existence will soon reveal its true complexity, yet this is nothing to fear. Once you truly know yourself, and why you continue to exist, life can begin anew, and you can wield your own identity as power. Answer me this question. What is your name?**

"Akari...Akari Ito!"

**The time has come for you, and the one who will be your eternal friend for generations to come, to peer into yourselves. The side of you that no one has seen before...command it. Whether it be a goddess or a demon...it is you!**

"I know. I'm ready for whatever happens.  **PERSONA!** "

A brilliant blue burst of light exploded from Akari, and she felt suddenly liberated. However, she suddenly felt herself soaring into the sky, and her arms clinging around something else – something warm. She blinked, and saw she was high above Kaii and Netuno, who were staring at her in awe. Looking down, she saw she was on...a flying horse, a beautiful lilac mare with a fuschia mane and deep blue eyes. The being didn't seem to have wings, yet it was capable of full flight, or rather, it seemed to be trotting on the air itself.

"What is this?!" Akari screamed. The figure in front of her turned around, and smiled. "You're...a Persona, right?"

She nodded, her dark blue eyes twinkling. Her sleeveless dress was long and pink, made of a strange silken material that seemed to shimmer throughout every inch of it. She wore white leather gloves, holding onto reins that seemed to be made out of plasma energy itself, but her feet were bare. However, her legs were clad with silver anklets, which matched the tiara she wore. Her kind face had some light red eyeshadow, and a bright pink lipstick.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. I cometh from thy sea of thy heart. I art Epona, she who will show the way to prosperity comes from peace, not bloodshed."**

"I dunno, considering that Personas basically kill Shadows, that seems kind of hypocritical." Akari mused to herself. "But this is AWESOME! I haven't been horse riding since I was a little girl! Wish I had the reins though..."

Epona rode her horse back down to the ground, and eyed Kaii with a stern look of disapproval. She took one look at Netuno, however, and her face changed to one of great sorrow, her eyes actually changing to blue. She clicked her fingers, and the horse went up on its hind legs, neighing. A healing pulse of energy flowed from her into Netuno, and he slowly recovered from his beat down.

"No, Akari. You can't be serious." Kaii said. "I was trying to help you get home! Now you're siding against me?"

"Epona!" Akari cried.

The goddess touched her hands with her fingers, and her tiara shined brightly. The horse concentrated its powers as well – and blasted Kaii aside with a bizarre burst of energy. It didn't seem to be of conventional power, either. It was pure magic, or perhaps Psychic power.

"Oww..." Kaii cried, holding his head in pain. He almost lost his balance, and quickly supported himself against the wall enclosing the roof. Netuno simply watched, unsure what to do. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go so far...please, don't take his side. Stay with me. We're the ones who are seeking the truth!"

"I didn't want to take anyone's side..." Akari said, shaking her head. "But is finding your real father worth all of this? How many people are going to get hurt? Or...killed?!"

Kaii stood there, lost for words. This man may be twenty, but he looked more like a lost boy, not knowing where to turn to, or who to depend on. Akari's Persona vanished, and she landed on her feet.

"This isn't  _right_ , Kaii, and you know it." Akari said. "Are Bythos really going to find out who your father is? Or are they just using you because of your power?"

"I..." Kaii mumbled. "I...I told you, I...I'll never feel right until I know the truth. I have to do this, no matter what. Even if it means...I have to fight you!"

Akari was stunned. How could he say that, out loud? They had gotten along really well during their shifts together. He was working with awful people, but he couldn't tear himself away. It was almost heart-breaking to watch. This young man had his whole future ahead of him, even if he hadn't quite made it into college. Yet he was throwing his lot in with a bunch of criminals. Joining him was out of the question.

"No, Kaii...join  _my_  side." Akari said. "It'll be the best way for all of us."

"...It's too late." Kaii said. "Goodbye."

He activated the Aeon Pathway app in his Gnosis, and before anyone could stop him, he disappeared into the ether. Akari stood there, trying to hold back her tears.

"You idiot!"

"Um..." Netuno said. "Thanks, for earlier. I didn't expect him to be so vicious. He was more like an attack dog than a little puppy."

"That's funny...he has a dog back home." Akari said, trying to cheer herself up.

"Probably nice that he has someone on his level of intellect to talk to." Netuno said, laughing to himself. When Akari crossed her arms, however, he blushed, scratching his hair. "So, you're friends with the guys from Kansei, huh? How about the twins from Chieki? You met them yet?"

"Masato and Natsumi Yoshinaga? I've heard of them, but we've not been introduced." Akari said. "Is everyone I know a Persona user except me? Until now?"

"I think you'll give them a big surprise during our next meeting with them." Netuno said. "Let me introduce you to my boss and the other guys. Trust me, we'll look after you. One of the girls makes some great chocolate brownies."

"Oh, I love chocolate!" Akari said, now happy. "Let's go! Just wait until Kohaku finds out!"

_Just think, if I hadn't gone to the bathroom that day in the mall, and gotten that job...I could have had a Persona by now! Better late than never, right?_


	19. Memories of the Sea, Rising and Falling

**|April 19th, Wednesday|Kansei High School, Class 2-1 – English Class|14:24 pm|**

"You know, it still confuses me a little." The English teacher, Natalie MacKenzie, said. "In my old school in Edinburgh, it was the students that went to different classrooms each period, not the teachers. Course, the students here don't graffiti swear words all over the toilets, so it's not all bad..."

Shintaro smirked, writing down his notes at a fast pace. Being an avid reader, he had already become very fluent in English, much to the delight of his teacher. The brunette Natalie was a young teacher with twinkling blue eyes, nearly always dressed in a blue suit and black skirt. She had taught at Kansei for two years now, and enjoyed crossing the cultural barrier between her beloved Scotland and Japan. Edinburgh was one of the sister cities of Shinshuto, the others being Gothenburg, Vienna, and Yokohama. As such, there were a number of Scottish, Swedish and Austrian tourists around.

As she carried on with the lesson, Shintaro looked over, and saw Akari writing down as fast as he could. She wasn't quite as adept with foreign languages as him, and often asked for his study notes on the subject – to the point where he felt like he should charge for being a tutor.

"Let's see if you're all paying attention." Natalie said. "How about - no, not Shintaro again, you always know the answer. How about you, Akari? Let's try this one, the difference between less and fewer. Which would you say? There are 'less' fish in the river, or 'fewer'?"

Akari, perplexed, looked to Kohaku, who shrugged. English wasn't one of her best subjects, and she was just relieved not to have been asked the question. However, before Shintaro could speak up, Kei looked over, and incredibly quietly said a word. Akari, relieved, spoke out her answer.

"Less, MacKenzie-sensei!" Akari said, smiling.

"Yes, that's right. We use less for things we can't count, and 'fewer' for things we can. Another example is, 'I drink fewer than three coffees a day'. Although until we fix the coffee machine in the teacher's lounge, it's going to be  _no_ coffees a day. What's a lass like me to do, eh?" Natalie said, grinning. "Never mind, at least I've still got my Irn Bru."

"Iron Brew...?" Akari asked, confused. "Is she a bodybuilder?"

"...Not quite." Kohaku said, amused.

The class continued, as the school day reached its end. As they left the school building, they saw Noburo and Teruko walking down the road, loved up as always, yet she caught a glimpse of Kohaku – and gave a hateful stare, while Noburo politely smiled. Akari seemed strangely happy, though. She kept grinning, trying to stop snickering, and eventually left for 'something top secret'. With her gone, however, the team were free to go to Ginumi, for another meet with Shigeru.

_I wonder how things are going with him at home? I didn't think he was only Noburo's step-dad. But he probably doesn't see it that way. He's been a way better father to him than Toki ever was, at least, that's the impression I get. I hope Noburo never finds out what his real dad is up to...I better make sure he doesn't get involved._

**|Grand Laguna Hotel|16:04 pm|**

The suite was as grand as ever, and it was far more pleasing to the eyes, not to mention the other senses, as that dingy storage room at Chiho. Relieved to be here again, the ace student and friends walked over to the luxurious seats.

"Good to have you all back. You're looking well, Shintaro-san." Novalie said, kindly.

"Thanks. I never thanked you all properly for what you did for me back at Chiho." Shintaro said. "...I won't be so stupid ever again."

"Good to here. We'll all be more cautious as well." Shigeru said. "Now, the reason I invited you all here today is because I wanted to introduce you to two new faces. Well, one of which is new. Come in...Netuno."

Kohaku gasped. As if by magic, Netuno Fonseca of Electric Sea came through the door, and waved at the team, hand on his hip. Shintaro didn't know him as well as his audiophile friend, but he did know she found both his band and his aesthetics rather alluring. He could see her cheeks turning red, and he giggled – yet Kei frowned at him, so he stopped.

"Boa tarde!" The new guest said, smiling. "Sorry, I'll stick to one language. Name's Netuno Fonseca. I'm one of the old guard. Well, younger than those two old guys, by about two or three decades? Or are we talkin' centuries?"

"Must you bring up your youth every meeting? I'm only just in my fifties..." Hiroyuki said, exasperated. Shigeru simply let out a laugh, and gestured for the confident guitarist to take a seat.

"Youthful, maybe...but he keeps missing out on all the action. Leaving the 'old guys' to do all the hard work." Reia said, as the blue-haired rocker sat right next to her. "And he's still not taken me to that sushi place..."

"Sorry, Rei-Rei. It's been a busy couple of months for this guy. Rehearsing for our gigs in Tarumi takes a lot of time." Netuno said. "Doesn't running that little stall take its toll on you too?"

"I could sew you into a body bag if you aren't careful." Reia said, icily.

"Such a lovely pair." Hiroyuki said. "Ahem. As we were saying, we have two guests today. The other is still outside, and probably getting impatient."

"Well what are you waiting for? Let them in!" Kohaku said.

"I wonder who this is gonna be?" Shintaro asked.  _Oh, if only it were Celestine..._

"Introducing..." Shigeru began. The door suddenly burst open, and the person running into the suite was someone the crew from Kansei knew very well. After all, she had been sitting in most of their classes since the start of term.

"Hi everyone!" Akari said, making the peace sign with her fingers.

"Akari Ito, everyone." Shigeru said.

There was a moment of silence. All their efforts to hide this world from her, and yet here she was in the Theio Kosmos, without a care in the world.

"Akari-chan?!" Kohaku said, finally. "How - How did you get here?"

She proudly held out a black smartphone, which had already been adorned with stickers of puppies and pink stars.

"With one of these, just like you!"

"Um...how long have you had one of those?" Shintaro finally asked.

"Since Sunday! I wanted to tell you sooner, but then I thought I'd rather just surprise you all at the next team meeting!" Akari said. She turned to the two twins, and waved. "You two are Natsumi and Masato, right? It's good to finally meet you! Love the red hair!"

"Thanks! It's a Yoshinaga thing. Love yours too. Good to meet you!" Natsumi said, shaking Akari's hand. Masato did the same, yet seemed confused.

"How did you get a Gnosis? I mean, did yours have EX-NIHILO?"

"Uh...no. Let me tell you the whole deal." The animal lover said. "Sunday...was crazy. Let me tell you all about it. It's pretty important information, actually. It all started when I overhead Kaii from work talking on the phone. Not just any phone, you see. It was a Gnosis, like yours and mine."

Shintaro, stunned, looked at her with shock. "That must mean..."

"Yeah. He's one of the nine Aeon Administrators. The most recent one they recruited, he said."

And so, Akari regaled the team with her ordeal on Sunday. During which she learned of Kaii's involvement with Bythos, how Toki captured Shintaro, and of a plot to steal important data from Inoue Bank's main building in Totsuka. A fierce battle between Netuno and Kaii had broken out, and the guitarist was in a bad way – until she awakened to her Persona.

"Say hello to Epona!" Akari said. Out of her came the goddess riding upon her horse. "Isn't she pretty?"

"Y-Yeah..." Kohaku said. "...I'm just glad you picked our side. Having to fight you would have been horrible."

"I know. I just wish Kaii would have done the same..." Akari said. "I wonder if he'll still come to work. But that's not important. What matters is that I'm finally part of the group. And I'm going to make myself useful. Novalie already took me to get some weapons. Check these out!"

She summoned a pair of weapons in her hands – what appeared to be batons, or tonfa. Shintaro had seen them plenty in various works, but not up close.

"Those suit you." Kei said. "How are you getting used to the Theio Kosmos?"

"Pretty well. I've fought a few Shadows already. Weak ones, though." Akari said. "Everyone's been so nice. Now that I know what you were involved with, I get why you've been so secretive. But...I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to fight Shadows with you whenever you want."

"I'm glad you're all on board." Novalie said, happily. "So we should celebrate. Rather than venture out of this hotel for this evening...let's make sure of its many facilities."

"What do you mean?" Masato asked. "You mean we actually get to try the restaurant food?!"

"Alright! Hideki-kun was talking about having his wedding reception here!" Natsumi said. "But wait, how are we going to afford that? I mean, there's so many of us here."

"No need to worry about that. We grown-ups are quite well off, as it happens." Netuno said. "I mean, we have our own private studio we use to produce albums and even music videos. Novalie's family own a lot of real estate in Norway. Not to mention Reia makes a surprising amount of money for the stuff she makes from those doodles."

"I'd stitch your mouth up for a million yen." Reia said, not even looking at him.

"Ouch." Netuno said. "I don't think even Tam Kung would survive that."

"We've had practice battles between ourselves in the past, as I was telling Akari-san." Hiroyuki said, grinning. "Netuno, kid, tell me. What's your record of wins to losses against Reia?"

"...0 – 25." Netuno said, sheepishly.

"If you had a better weapon than that guitar, you'd probably have a better chance." Reia said, checking her painted nails in the light. Natsumi looked in awe, admiring the dark purple finish. "That, and if you bothered to change up your attack pattern. Most people would realise that if it wasn't working the first time, to try something different the next time. Not you, though. No wonder your album sounds like the same track on repeat fifteen times."

"Yeah, well, your clothes all look the same. Like, do you get a kick out of drawing the same dress thirty times and calling each one a Rimando Original?" Netuno said, sticking his tongue out.

"Hey, back off!" Natsumi said. "Reia works hard, for your information!"

"Calm down. This is just how we roll." Reia said, with a very slight smile. "Speaking of rolls, Netuno, I hear the sushi place does some great ones you just can't get anywhere else..."

"Yeah, I know. I'll try and find an opening soon." Netuno said. Masato snickered, while Natsumi blinked, confused. "Ahem...In my schedule. Nothing untoward."

"Obviously." Reia said. "Let's get to the restaurant, then. We've booked a special room for ourselves. Plus, with the power of the Cognition Core, no one here will ask any awkward questions about we adults are hanging out with a group of students we aren't related to. Which is good, because I can't be arsed thinking up answers for them."

"Isn't that kinda brainwashing...?" Akari asked.

"We're not exactly forcing them to give us free food or any particular special treatment. Everything about tonight's dinner is above board." Shigeru assured. "I don't intend to abuse this core's power. Even if this one only affects the hotel, we must not give in to evil temptations."

"Does that mean we don't get any cake?" Natsumi asked.

"Well...maybe  _some_  temptations." Shigeru said, breaking into a small laugh. "Let's go. I'll take us all to the real world."

And thus, Shintaro and the others prepared themselves for a feast. Now that Akari was part of their team, they could fight with even greater than before. Yet what of Kaii Murayama, of the Aeon Administrators? Would either he or Toki come after them again? And Keiya and Asami remained a threat as well, even if both had been quiet...

**|April 21st Friday|Kansei High School – Rooftop|15:45 pm|**

Another day of school was over, and Shintaro had done well in Maths with Mr. Horiguchi. It was a subject he and Kohaku excelled at, having helped each other countless times throughout their schooling. Yet he preferred studying words, rather than numbers, so Kohaku had a slight edge. Now they had gone to the roof, to enjoy the spring afternoon sunshine. It was empty this afternoon, much to their relief.

"Wow! It's great up here." Akari said, feeling a slight breeze. "Not as nice as Inoue's big roof area, though. How come they can't make high school roofs better places to sit and relax?"

"What, you wanting a big pool and a mini bar?" Shintaro asked.

"Yeah! That'd be the coolest thing ever!" Akari said. "Last night was great. I never thought I'd eat so much! And no one even gave us any funny looks!"

"I know. I feel a bit weird about manipulating their minds, though..." Kohaku said. "But it's not as if we plan to do anything more extreme."

Shintaro nodded. "Shigeru was adamant that no one use the Cores for selfish purposes. What we did last night was to protect ourselves from suspicion, nothing more. Although the power of the cores makes me uneasy."

"I'll say. They were used to kill a human being at the hospital. Two humans, actually..." Kohaku said, sadly. "I'm worried about the next big core. I mean, where will it be? Do you think Hiyashi? Tarumi? Ginumi? Asakita? Totsuka?"

"No one seems to know. But when it was Mizuho, people there showed strange symptoms. They were suddenly huge supporters of Bythos, and seemed...like they were possessed." Shintaro mused to himself. "Yet the core hadn't fully appeared. It must show up first in a primordial state, one that can't be harnessed."

"Yes...then we must keep our eyes out for where it might be. If we locate it first, we must do what we can to defend it from Bythos. If we locate it last...then, as we did with Mizuho, we will invade and steal it. That's our only choice." Kei said. "Akari, do you understand what this could mean?"

"Fighting Kaii, right?" Akari said. "I...I'm fine with that! Y-Yeah, honestly! Toki's the one we have to watch out for, anyway! That creep needs some serious payback for what he did to Shintaro-kun! Right, Kohaku-chan?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. I won't let him get away with what he's done. Toki Hayashi, that bastard...how dare he kidnap Taro-kun like that!" Kohaku said, angry. "Yeah, next time I see him, I'll kill – huh?"

They heard the door open, and Noburo came up, looking a little confused.

"Oh, it's the star actor! Handsome as ever!" Akari said, smiling. The boy just blinked at her, while the others cringed. "What brings you here? Aren't we the ones supposed to come after you for autographs?"

"Huh? Um...no, I'm meaning Teruko-chan up here today. I wasn't expecting to see you guys, though." Noburo said. "By the way...I thought I heard you shouting, Kohaku-senpai. Is something wrong?"

"N-Nothing's wrong! It's fine, honestly. Just...nothing!" Kohaku said, laughing nervously.

The young thespian looked at her, raising his eyebrow, but simply shrugged. "Well, if you say so. Sorry, I don't want to inconvenience you, but if Teruko-chan catches you here with me...you remember last time, right? I don't want her yelling at you again..."

"Ah, I see. Never mind, we're going now, anyway." Shintaro said. "See you tomorrow, Noburo. And good luck with the show!"

"Thanks, senpai! Maybe I'll see you in the audience. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Noburo said, smiling. The four second-years quickly left, eager to avoid another Terukotastrophe, as Kohaku called it. As they did, Noburo quickly ceased his smiling, and was troubled.

"'How dare Toki Hayashi kidnap Shintaro'? Is...that what she said earlier?" Noburo said, befuddled. " _Toki_?! What the hell? He's...not still around, is he? Should I ask Dad...?"

He shook his head, trying to dismiss this thought. Whatever Kohaku was talking about, he probably got it wrong. After all, what would his biological father be doing kidnapping his senpai?

**|Theio Kosmos – Hiyashi – Keyaki Hills|16:27 pm|**

The group had made their way to Hiyashi, and the twins had joined them shortly after. They sent a message to Shigeru and the others telling them they were exploring Hiyashi, but only the area around the hills, and would call if they ran into trouble.

"It's been a while since we got a chance to just hang out without the adults." Kei said. "It's almost like old times."

"Old times? It wasn't that long ago!" Kohaku said. "A lot has changed, though. And really quickly."

"I'll say. Shintaro, are you really okay? What Toki did to you must have been horrifying. I can't believe Kaii would be friends with someone like that." Akari said.

"I'm fine now, honestly. After all, I've made plans to have dinner with Celestine Ashikaga!" He practically shouted this out loud, much to the bewilderment of the others.

"Wait. She's that author that's really hot, right?" Masato asked. "How the heck did you get her to have dinner with you?"

"Obviously, I used the Imperius Curse." Shintaro said, rolling his eyes. The baseball star quickly looked away, regretting what he said already.

"...Sorry. I mean, nothing against you, but her having dinner with a fan she met at a book signing? Is that something she does all the time?"

"Not exactly. Turns out she has a copy of Silver's Pain." Shintaro said. Masato looked up in surprise. "Yeah, I know. I couldn't believe it either. But my grandfather's book helped her write Leanne Rogue, one of the best new series I've ever read."

"It does sound quite fascinating when you talk about it. Rather surreal at times, I might add." Kohaku said.

"So, when are you meeting the lucky lady?" Masato asked, now curious. "And where?"

Shintaro, flustered, went red in the face. "Relax, it's not a date or anything like that. Honest. No, it's just a chance for us to talk about books. And maybe she'll give me advice on writing one of my own. I don't know when just yet, but she wants to go to the Golden Dragon!"

Akari practically screamed. Natsumi, too, looked shocked. "Golden Dragon?!"

"Yes, ladies. I'm finally getting to go to the most expensive restaurant Tarumi has to offer!" Shintaro said, excitedly. "I'm going to have to wear my best clothes, or I'll stick out like a sore thumb. Must try to make myself look older, too. I don't want anyone giving her a hard time if they see her hanging out with a high school student."

"Are you  _sure_  this isn't a date? Because it's sounding suspiciously like one." Kohaku said, folding her arms. "Well, as long as you two have a good time, it's all good. Especially if you get to have their legendary dim sum."

"You're so lucky, Shintaro-kun...I wish I could go! I love Chinese..." Natsumi said, almost whining. "Why can't a famous fashion designer invite  _me_  there?"

"Well, if Reia gets really famous, maybe she'll employ you and you'll become really rich." Akari said. "Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"...I can't draw clothes as good as hers." Natsumi said.

"First of all, don't talk shit. Your stuff is the best ever. Yoshinagas aren't second best to anyone." Masato said, sincerely. Natsumi smiled, but she didn't seem to quite believe her brother's hype. Kei, however, seemed rather annoyed by all of this. She was the least amused out of all the group. She didn't smile often, but it almost felt like she would never grin again.

"Kei, what's wrong?" Shintaro asked.

"Oh...?" Kei said. "I'm sorry. I was just lost in thought." She looked up at the Hills building, in awe at its hexagonal design. She then frowned, and actually seemed incensed. "I'm sure Shintaro's date will go just well. I mean, he's finally met someone that knows more about books than he does. It'll be a match made in heaven."

Shintaro, somewhat taken aback, just stared at her. Astonished, he finally spoke. "But...it's  _not_  a date, Kei. Yes, I know she's pretty, way prettier than most authors I've seen. And she's like 27. There's no way she'd date a kid like me."

"What makes you so sure?" Kei asked, cuttingly. "How well do you really know her, Shintaro? If you keep being so naïve, you could be deceived..."

"Do you know something about her that I don't?" Shintaro asked, now angry, as he crossed his arms. This wasn't like Kei at all. Wouldn't she be happy that he was doing so well? He was simply trying to get his life on track, after being stuck in that dreadful basement by a washed-up TV actor.

"No. I just...I worry about you sometimes. After Toki kidnapped you, you're not being careful. Barely a week after you meet a celebrity like Celestine Courtois, and you're planning dinner at a place people would  _kill_  to get a reservation at." Kei said. "All I really want to say is...be more careful."

"Hey, he's the smartest boy in school. If Celestine was some kind of sex-craved man-eater, he'd know." Akari said, rather casually.

"Exactly. You're worrying about nothing." Kohaku said.

"...I hope you're right." Kei said. "Please, let's drop this topic. We should go inside."

As they went inside the hills to do some shopping, Akari quickly started chatting excitedly with Natsumi. Already, the two of them seemed to be developing quite the rapport.

"Hey, Natsumi-chan, do you design clothes for pets?" Akari asked. "That'd be so cool if you did! Don't you think? C'mon, give it a try?"

"I'm not sure if I could design something that wasn't meant for a human..." Natsumi said, wondering. "Tell you what. Send me a pic of Akiko some time, and I'll experiment with a few designs. Perhaps she'll have a nice warm coat for the winter after all!"

"Oh, thank you! You're the best!" Akari said. "By the way, does Dorothy have any pets?"

"A snake. He's pretty awesome. He's called Banana." Masato said, grinning. "He's huge, but gentle."

"I'm not a reptile person, exactly, but show me sometime! Wow...I love coming here. So many huge stores..."

"Hold on. What's that one there? 'Card Temple'? Kohaku asked. "Let's check it out."

The group made their way up to the second floor, via the escalator. Seeing the place completely empty was almost surreal. Shintaro did find the scale of this building impressive, yet their book stores weren't quite as good as Page Turner or Book Wyrm in his opinion. However, the Card Temple – ordinary a generic greetings card store called Best Wishes – was something else entirely.

**|Card Temple|16:35 pm|**

The walls and floors were elegant white marble, with Grecian columns throughout the store. Various stands made out of smooth stone were on display, each with strange glowing cards around. There was a giant Tarot card on the ground...and it rose up, revealing a glass elevator.

"Wow!" Shintaro said, amazed.

Emerging from this elevator was a middle aged man with a head of black curly hair, with a pair of glasses that had peculiar frames – of miniature tarot cards. His clothes were strange as well, with a suit jacket that was half white, and half black, and his trousers were in the reverse order.

"Welcome, children! My name is the Card Curator. Well, it's not my legal name, that's Noriyuki Hirakata, but when you're given a strange magical phone and have the ability to sell extraordinary merchandise, why not go the extra nautical mile?"

"...Why nautical?" Natsumi asked.

"Those are longer than regular miles." Shintaro said.

"Correct! You're a smart lad. I imagine you've met at least one other of the Merchant Gnosis users, right?" The Curator said.

"Yes. Two of them, to be precise." Kohaku explained. "Both Titan Tyrant and Master Raine were rather eccentric."

"Oh, did you design that get up yourself?" Akari asked, eyeing the man up and down. "Maybe Natsumi can help make a better outfit!"

"Akari!" Kei scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "If you keep saying stuff like that, he'll double his prices!"

"Now now, settle down, ladies." The Curator said. He pointed his finger in the air, and a card came flying down. It had a picture of a fireball on it, with text on the bottom reading 'Agi'. I haven't even begun to explain how I can help you. Tell me, Miss Moriya...you're the only one with a Wild Card in your team, is that correct? The Gnosis told me about your power before you came. You'll gain the most from my services, I imagine."

"Yo, dude, what's with the card?" Masato asked. "Is it the Agi spell my sis can use?"

"Correct, my uncouth friend!" The Curator replied, almost gleefully. "With this, you can use a new app on your phone – which should be installing shortly – that will give you the ability to teach your Personas one new spell. Miss Moriya, I entrust this with you. Teach whichever Persona you wish that spell. Except poor Jack Frost. He can't really handle the hee-t, ho."

"Aww, but he's so cute." Akari said.

"Hmm. Sarutahiko's more about brute force. I'm going with...Angel." Kei said. A new app appeared on her phone, the Card Dealer. With it, she selected both the heavenly messenger and the new Agi card. With it, the card vanished into thin air, and there was a flash. Then, it displayed Angel's new set of skills – with one of them highlighted in white, specifically, 'Agi'.

"Well done." The Curator said. "I sell many other cards of that type. But I must warn you. Each Persona – that goes to your friends as well – can only have one Card Skill learned at a time. If you want to change it, you'll need to delete it first. That is a service I can do, of course, whether you come here in person, or avail of my services via your shopping app. I will of course be back periodically once I've created new cards to be purchased, ones stronger than you can currently handle. As you grow, you'll be considered 'worthy' by them."

"Thank you very much." Kei said, gratefully, as she bowed.

"The pleasure is all mine. You're nice and polite, too. Like those three in blue uniforms I just met."

"Hold up. Blue uniforms?" Masato asked, apprehensively.

"Yes, their phones had a light blue colour. Two young girls and a boy, about your age. I'm not sure what they were up to, but they were pleasant to talk to. Perhaps you know them? Their uniforms are strange - coats, scarves, gloves.."

"I see...I don't think we've met the three you saw tonight." Shintaro said. Judging by the uniforms, these were a squad much like the one they had faced not so long ago. Thinking about the Claret Squad sent a shiver down his spine. After all, they would never be together again. And their leader was still in the hospital, with no family or friends coming to see her. It was a cruel end to the team, no matter how vile their actions had been.

"Oh. Well, never mind. Browse, everyone, and let me know what you'd like. I can only give one free card to a group, of course. That means beyond the Agi card I just granted you, all others you must pay for. But I hope you find my prices reasonable." The Curator said.

After picking out some cards of various forms, the team left the store, and started to head out of the Hills. As they did, however, they saw an alert appear on their phone, with a huge black and yellow warning sign.

**SHADOW ALERT!**

_An Anomaly Shadow has escaped from Regency Tower in Totsuka._

_It has now taken up residence in Ginumi's Seabreeze Garden, a location still to produce a Core._

_It is ranked as Threat Level 3, above the two previously observed Anomalies in Bella Donna and Hanashima. Please be cautious if you choose to fight it – it can assault the mind as well as the flesh._

_Sending Aeon Pathway codes to all who receive this message._

"Holy cow, another of these weird things? I never did get to see the first one..." Masato asked. "What's this new one like?"

"I dunno. Let's go fight it!" Akari said, leaping into action. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"Doesn't this seem dangerous to you at all?" Kohaku asked, worriedly. "It says right there, please be cautious!"

"It'll be fine! Me and Epona are itching for a real fight, anyway! And I want to fight alongside you all now. C'mon, let's go and kick this Shadow's butt!" Akari said.

"I suppose it's best to eliminate these things before they can do any major damage. We should go." Shintaro said.

The group left for Ginumi, prepared for their next opponent.

**|Ginumi Shore|17:01 pm|**

Annoyingly, the new code didn't put the team directly in the gardens, but ten minutes away on the shore. It was a nice bright day, even in this world, but Shintaro and the gang didn't exactly have the opportunity to relax here.

"I feel something..." Akari said. "It's...so powerful. That way." She pointed to the north-east.

"Wow, is that something else Epona can do?" Masato asked.

"Yeah. It lets me sense Shadows, even before they come up on the Gnosis's map screen." Akari said. "C'mon!"

"Wait, is it really wise for all of us to charge into battle?" Kei asked. "There's six of us now. One of us should go back to the hotel and let Shigeru and the others know what's happening, in case we need a Plan B."

"Good plan." Kohaku said. "...I'll go. Akari, you're in charge of healing everybody!"

"Okay! You're not gonna regeret this, I promise!" Akari said, giving her friend a salute. The brunette smiled, and ran off towards the hotel.

The rest of the team ran nearer and nearer the huge Seabreeze Gardens, a big place filled with flowers, trees, and a large playpark. The entrance to the place was an archway, adorned with various brightly coloured seashells and the name of the place proudly displayed in golden kanji letters.

Yet in the farthest part of the park, something bizarre was looming over three young people dressed in blue uniforms. No doubt, the same three who had previously been at Keyaki Hills. Kei and the team ran into the gardens, and neared the scene of battle.

"Aritomo, are you sure about this?" One of the girls, the shortest of the two with spiky blue hair, said. She stared up at their nemesis in fear. He tightly gripped her sword, albeit uneasy.

"Yes, Fumika. We're going to destroy this Shadow. Me and Konomi aren't scared, so please, try to be brave. It'll be okay as long as you're with me." Aritomo, a tall young man with somewhat messy black hair, said. He had two short swords, one held in a reverse grip. "We fight!"

"I'm going to put an end to its maddening cries." 'Konomi', a girl with puffy and curly lilac hair, said, twirling her glaive.

" **Absurd. Your power is falsified! Can you not see that without someone stronger to cling to, you're doomed? I'll see you all drown in despair tonight."**

The person speaking soon turned out to be a rather peculiar feminine form. Her skin was an immensely dark blue, with strange teal lines all over her body, as well as a 'rain' like effect. She didn't seem to have hair, but rather blue wisps of smoke roughly in the shape of huge mane going down to her waist. One of her eyes was green, and the other red. She was inside a large round pool of vivid sapphire water, and could only be seen from the waist up.

"...The heck is that thing?" Masato asked.

"According to this, she's called ' **Mnemosyne'**." Shintaro said. "The Greek Goddess of memory, and also where the word mnemonic comes from."

"Nice! We can always count on your brain, Shintaro-kun." Akari said. "The alert said she got here from Totsuka -"

"Huh?!" Fumika said, turning around. She gasped, even more timid. "Oh no! They got the alert too..."

"Great. Are we supposed to fight them too?" Konomi said, annoyed. She brandished her glaive, pointing it menacingly at her new enemies. "Bring it."

"Let's not be too hasty. Our primary objective is to slay Mnemosyne. She may be named after a goddess, but she's not immortal. We can defeat her!" Aritomo said, valiantly raising his swords. "Give it everything you have. I'll do the same!"

_He's pretty impressive sounding. Too bad he's just a footsoldier in Bythos._

" **It doesn't matter how determined you are! You can't defeat me! So please, leave! I don't want to have to kill you!"** The Shadow wailed, distraught.  **"You people won't leave me alone! He said he'd help me, but even with my new power, people are still trying to kill me! It's not fair! IT'S NOT FAIR!"**

"What do you mean by that?" Kei asked. "Who's 'he'?"

" **Like I would tell you! I...I won't let myself be killed by children like you! You other three lack their sheer potential. Here, why don't you take a drink? It'll relax you. Memoria Falsum!"**

"W-What?! No, DON'T!" Fumika said. Mnemosyne, with an evil smile, splashed her with the malevolent water, which drenched the Bythos soldier. The girl screamed, and a blue flame flicked above her head. Konomi and Aritomo were subjected to this too. When it was over, the three of them had faint purple flickering flames above their heads.

"Yes, I remember now." Aritomo said, with a disturbing dark tone to his voice. "We're Mnemosyne's loyal soldiers. Her guardians."

"That's right..." Konomi said, laughing eerily. "These nasty people have come to murder her! We can't allow that, now can we?"

"No way!" Fumika said, now enraged, and full of confidence. "You're in our way! Hurry up and disappear, all of you!"

" **Such wonderful guardians! Show me your power, even if it is as artificial as the memories I've given you. Wild Card, and all your friends, witness my wrath! Forever, I shall be free from my mortal hell, and you shall never stop me!"**

"You Anomalies all have such egos." Kei said. "But you don't stand a chance against me. Neither do your peons. Angel! Burn!"

The messenger of god appeared, blindfolded as ever, and summoned her newly gained power over fire. An Agi flashed, burning Fumika quite fiercely.

"Ow! That hurt!" Fumika whined. "Take THIS! Yuki Jyorou!"

An ice woman appeared, one that Shintaro vaguely recalled hearing about from Shigeru. Clumps of ice, aka Bufu, hit Kei, and as they did, the blue-haired soldier ran forward, only for her sword to clash with her foe.

"You're stronger than the Claret Squad guys, that's for sure." Kei said.

"Duh! No wonder the Memory Mother chose us over them!" Fumika said.

_Just how badly affected are her memories?_

Shintaro didn't have much time to ponder this, however, as he saw Aritomo rushing at him. He was nimble, skilled with both swords, and they were far too fast for the book-lover to evade. Reading about combat was one thing, but actually taking part in it was still a challenge. He had to get past his anxiety, and be brave like Kei.

"You're not exactly built for battle..." Aritomo said, shaking his head.

"The pen is mightier than the sword. Even two swords!" Shintaro shouted. "Jet Flash!"

The soldier gasped, as he was buffeted by sharp winds that Ogma had borne – and soon after, struck from behind by Shintaro.

"Argh! What a cowardly trick..." Aritomo chided, grinding his teeth.

"Call it whatever you want. I just don't like seeing you being controlled...by Bythos or this freak of a goddess."

"DON'T INSULT OUR GODDESS!" Konomi shrilled, swinging her glaive – only to be blocked by Natsumi. The two girls attacked each other ferociously, with Konomi's powerful strikes and Natsumi's flurry of kicks and swings clashing loudly.

"I'm good on my feet, you see." Natsumi said, panting for breath. "I just apply my dance skills to fighting! Cool, don't you think?"

"You're developed an interesting fighting style. Not exactly a  _competent_  one, is it?" Konomi said, smirking.

"Oh, go to hell!" Natsumi said. "I almost felt like complimenting you, but you're such a meanie. Brigid! Agi!"

The fiery goddess sent her blazing flames at Konomi, but they didn't seem particularly strong.

"I'm not as flammable as Fumika..." Konomi said, laughing. "Show them, Pele!"

A dark skinned Hawaiian volcano goddess, clashing with Brigid's skin tone, appeared. Her dark metal headdress was burning with bright flames, which she grasped with both hands, and sent flying into the air – creating a strong Maragi.

"Oww..." Akari said, feeling the heat. "This girl is pissing me off..."

"Why not show her how you feel? Put your mind to it - so to speak." Kei said, giving her a sideways glance.

"I think I'll do just that. Come, Epona!"

A psychokinetic blast, Psi, struck Konomi with lurid colours, giving her quite a headache, and making her stumble. In the confusion, Aritomo looked over – only to be clubbed on the head by Masato.

"Ha! You ought to watch your back more..." Masato said.

"Damn you! I'll kill you for this. Raijuu!"

The Persona, at least from the front, was a yellow feline charged with electricity, yet the entire lower half of its body seemed to be pure thunder and lightning itself, befitting its name – 'Thunder Beast'. It cast down the bolt of Zio, but it struck harder than Masato expected.

"What the hell? Is he using some kind of energy drink or something?" Masato asked.

"Not quite..." Akari said. "He's learned some kind of skill that boosts Electric damage!"

"Well of course I did. Electricity is a passion of mine." Aritomo said, smug. "Are you scared you'll lose?"

"Not really. It just puts you up to my level, rather than being drastically behind!" Masato said. "I deal with punks like you all the time whenever our school has a baseball game. You don't have what it takes to go all the way."

"Oh?" Aritomo asked. "I won't lose. Not until I defeat all of Mnemosyne's enemies! She's the only one we can trust!"

_I wonder what Nisa Liat would say if she heard that. Actually, she'd probably kill him, the two girls, and then that Shadow. If only we could do something about their fake memories..._

"Akari. The spell she's cast over these three. Is there any way we can remove it?" Kei asked.

"Um..." The animal lover mumbled. "I'm not sure. We might have to just knock them out."

"I had a feeling it'd come to this..." Shintaro said, sighing.

"Hey, it'll be fine. Watch this! Shock Point!"

Camulus created a ball of lightning out of nowhere, and sent it high in the sky with his club. He watched with a wicked grin, while Aritomo and the girls watched in confusion. Then, it hit the entire group, including Mnemosyne, creating a field of electricity – one that both electrocuted and inhibited agility.

"Nice move!" Shintaro said, happily. "I knew I could count on you!"

"...Thanks, Shintaro-kun, that means a lot." Masato said.

"I better get to work..." Shintaro said. "Ogma! Garu!"

A burst of wind hit Konomi, dizzying her more than she expected, spinning her into a jungle gym. She hit the bars painfully, and fell down, dazed.

"What the hell?!" Aritomo shouted.

"You started it!" Natsumi said. "Or...your stupid goddess did!"

"How dare you insult her..." Fumika said, angrily. "We won't stand for this kind of blasphemy. Nor will our Memory Mother!"

" **This is turning out beautifully. These memories I've given them have completely isolated their 'true' ones. And you won't be bringing them back. From now and forever, these three will be my army. No, not just them! All of the army of this so called Bythos group!"**

"What are you saying?" Kei asked. "...Isn't it Bythos who turned you into a Shadow?"

" **Huh? No! Don't be stupid! They're not even...huh?! What's wrong with me? Why...why can't I remember?!"** She let out an ear-piercing scream, clutching her head.  **"WHY?! All I ever did was live as an honest woman...why do people want to kill me for it?! How do I get rid of them?!"**

Shintaro, befuddled, glanced at Kei. "What's going on now?"

"Her own memories have been distorted by her transformation." Kei said. "Ironic, isn't it?"

"Did someone other than Bythos do this to you?" Natsumi asked, confused. "She's not making much sense."

" **Shut up! I don't care _who_ it was that turned me from a human to a goddess. I will be free in this new world. That is all I want...!"**

Unable to contain her rage, she attacked with a fierce Aques, soaking Masato. Fumika followed up with her sword attacks, and struck him with a cursed Eiha.

"You're pretty tough." Masato said, trying to weave out of harm's way.

"Thanks, I guess. You're hard to hit..." Fumika bemoaned. "No wonder the Claret Squad had such trouble fighting you..."

"We've only gotten stronger since then. Watch!" Masato said. "Zio!"

A bolt of lightning fell down on Fumika, shocking her fiercely. By this point, however, Konomi had recovered, and set her sights on Natsumi.

"You're tougher than you look..." She said, sinisterly. "You should see the light and support our Goddess." Natsumi shook her head in disgust, and ran up at her with her staff. "No? Fine. Kouha!"

A blast of blessed light hit Natsumi, sending her up in the air – and she hit the ground before Kei could reach her.

"Owwie..." Natsumi moaned. "That smarts...I think I landed on my purse, too!"

"Hold on!" Akari said. She blocked Aritomi's swords with her own tonfa, then kicked him back, and ran nearer her friend. "Epona, hurry! Leigheas Fórsa!"

The horse goddess chanted mysteriously, her fingertips on her head, and her horse concentrated deeply as well. A pale pink spiral of energy encircled Natsumi, restoring her vitality. Not only that, it seemed to have given her an offensive edge.

"Thanks, Akari-chan!" Natsumi said, saluting her new friend.

"Anytime!" Akari said, happily.

"Take THIS, you mean jerk!" Natsumi said, pointing at Aritomo. Brigid threw her Steel Wheel at him, carving deep into his body. Had he not had a Persona to protect his flesh, it would have been a gory sight.

"Urgh! I'm sick of dealing with you already!" Aritomo said, turning his attention to Kei. "Haven't you realised yet? We can't survive without someone to cling to!"

"You're a fool." Kei said, crossing her arms. "Whether it's Mnemosyne or Nisa Liat, all you're doing is giving up your free will and future to someone who doesn't care about you."

"...That's not true!" Konomi shouted, almost desperate.

"The Memory Mother has been kind to us!" Fumika said, emotionally. "Without her support, I'd just be the shy girl that everyone tries to push around..."

Kei, aghast, simply summoned Sarutahiko, the Prince of the Monkey Fields and husband of Ame-no-Uzume. The angry looking god unleashed his Rampage with his sword, striking all foes with equal force.

" **That power...you're just like that girl!"** Mnemosyne cried, pointing at Kei – somewhat accusingly. The 'Wild Card' power seemed to be offensive to her.  **"Are you in league with her and her allies as well?!"**

"No!" Kei shouted. "I'm not siding with Nisa Liat  _or_  her stupid Administrators!"

" **Nisa Liat? Who on earth is that? I never met anyone called that...did I? What's going on...?!"**

"This Memory Mother still is making no motherfucking sense." Natsumi said, shaking her head.

"...I didn't expect to hear that from  _you_ , sis." Masato said, astonished.

"Really? I heard Hideki saying a lot worse when he was studying for college exams..." Natsumi said, amused. She dodged Aritomo's swords, and hit back as strongly as she could.

"Mnemosyne, who are you really? Do you even know your old name?" Kei asked.

" **...No. But it's not like my life as a mortal was a happy one, anyway. That much I do remember. I blew the whistle, out of the kindness of my heart, and danger lurked around every corner. I couldn't even leave my own home. Then it happened. The chance of a new life I had been dreaming of. I never expected to be reborn quite like this, but now I'm the goddess of a new world. These other beings called Shadows can become my subjects. And soon enough, I'll be able to get rid of the ones who made my life hell!"**

"...Was Ryosuke like this?" Shintaro asked, perplexed.

"He could remember his former identity more clearly. Then again, he'd only been an Anomaly for less than an hour." Kei said. "This woman, whoever she is, has clearly been in this state for quite some time."

"If we kill her..." Akari said, disturbed. "Do we become murderers?"

"It may be the only way to save the Azure Squad." Kei said. "And the only way to free her from this fate. Her humanity is all but gone."

"She's a goddess, not a human! And I won't let you hurt her!" Aritomo said, darkly. "Eat THIS! Raijuu!"

The thunderous beast sank its Double Fangs into Kei, hitting her with twice the pain.

"Ugh..." Kei groaned, doubling over in pain.

" **Well done, Aritomo-kun. You're such a good boy, just like that thing you have stuck in your phone. I'll have to promote you after this."**

"Save your gratitude until after victory, Mnemosyne-sama." Aritomo said, almost in a daze.

_Does he even know what he's saying? This Shadow is crazy. We have to stop her from doing this to anymore people. And I know just what to do!_

"Ogma! Whirling Blade!"

The cloaked swordsman took his blade, and began spinning around, getting exponentially faster with each revolution, until he seemed to resemble a whirlwind himself. Then, he thew his sword, and it span right through each of the four enemies, cutting through them viciously.

"Alright, Shintaro-kun!" Akari said, cheerily. "You're awesome at this! I've got to keep up with you!"

"Thanks, Akari-chan. You're doing just fine yourself!"

Konomi, aggravated, set her sights on Shintaro. Using the sensual shape of Pele, she used a strange alluring charm – Marin Karin. With it, Shintaro's own thoughts changed completely. He gazed at her, and found her strangely attractive. As if he couldn't bare to harm her.

_Wait. This isn't like me?! Help...someone! I can't..._

"What are you looking at her like that for? Now's not the time to fall in love!" Masato said. Shintaro, completely out of his control, started to aim his sword at the red-haired boy. "Hey! Stop it!"

"What the hell did you do to him, you bitch?!" Natsumi shouted.

"It's called ruining your team completely. It's such a shame to see an educated man lose his mind over me..." Konomi said, laughing out loud, as she mockingly blew her victim a kiss.

"Shintaro...!" Akari pleaded. She tried stopping his bedeviled sword with her tonfa, but to noavail. "Stop attacking us! Snap out of it!"

The young man, almost on the verge, tried to regain control of his sword, but failed. His instincts had changed completely. Protect Konomi, the lovely young lady with the large hair and blue eyes, and fight in her honour. Those weren't his wishes, but they had overtaken all his rational thought.

"This isn't good." Kei said, dryly. Fumika quickly used this chance to cast Dia on Aritomo, healing him slightly. He crossed swords with Kei, who did her best to halt his blades.

"Oh, you  _think_?!" Masato shouted. "Someone, DO SOMETHING!"

"Stop shouting! I'm on it!" Akari said, calling Epona down. "I have just the thing. Energy Drop!"

A strange droplet of white power absorbed the lurid mist from Shintaro's body, and immediately dispelled it. To his relief, he felt in control again. Guilt sank in as well, however, as he had given Masato some trouble.

Konomi was dismayed, and even more offended when Akari gave her a mischievous grin.

"Thanks..." Shintaro said. He slashed wildly at Konomi, who retaliated with her glaive. "You're definitely not my type after all..."

"Nor are you mine. I do whatever I must to win." Konomi said. "I wasn't lucky enough to become an Aeon...neither of us were. It's sad, but I can't change it. All I can do is excel with the power I'm given, as weak as it is."

"That's all very eloquent, miss..." Masato said. "But you'll never win. Not until you clear your head. Camulus, go!"

With a strong Iron Impact, Konomi was struck down. Crying in pain, she fell next to a pair of swings, and dropped her weapon. Her Gnosis remained intact, however.

" **No! You were fighting so admirably, too..."** Mnemosyne wailed.  **"You won't get away with this. Ever since I found out who killed that girl, people have been hunting me down, even after he went to jail! Injustice...must be punished!"**

"Girl?" Shintaro asked. "WHOA!"

A torrent of dark water, Lethe, fell upon Shintaro's head. As he did, he felt his brain hurt momentarily. Panicking, he checked his hands and his feet. He could move properly, still, but something felt off. He tried calling Ogma, but something stopped him. It was as if he had forgotten how to use a Persona.

_How can this be? I've...I've gotten used to Ogma's power! How can I just forget how to summon him that quickly?!_

"That's what you deserve for what you did to poor Konomi-san!" Fumika shouted, angry.

"Get a clue! You're being used. I mean, you already were, but this is even worse! Mnemosyne has altered your memories. Try to remember. Have you even met this goddess before? When did you pledge your allegiance to her?" Shintaro challenged.

"I..." Fumika said, uneasy. "That's stupid. I've known the Goddess since...um...huh?!"

"Fumika-san! What's the matter?" Aritomo said, as he fended off Masato.

"I...I don't know! My head's all foggy. Do you remember when we first became Mnemosyne's soldiers?" Fumika asked.

"Sure I do. It was...huh? When...when was it?"

The Azure Squad leader began confidently, but trailed off, his mind coming to blank. The memories in his head didn't seem as strong as Shintaro expected. With any luck, they would recall who they were actually meant to serve.

" **No! Don't lose yourself to their deceit. All you have to do is follow my every beck and call, and you'll survive. Fight!"**

"R-Right..." Fumika said. She struck Natsumi with her sword, but her staff hit back harder. With a burning Agi, the blue-haired girl was sent spinning backwards. She was caught by her leader, however, who prevented her from falling into Mnemosyne's pool.

"Now! Koppa Tengu!"

The small Persona cast Magaru, expelling wind at the remaining opponents. All of them groaned in pain, and Aritomo was furious. Stomping the ground, he called down Raijuu once more.

"Get them! NOW!"

The beastly Persona took one look at Natsumi, and bashed her hard with his head. Crying out in pain, she fell backwards, almost hitting a tree.

"You alright sis?!" Masato shouted, running to her aid.

"I think so..." Natsumi said.

"Shintaro-kun, what's going on?" Akari asked. "Your Persona..."

"I...I can't summon it..." Shintaro said. "Why can't..."

It was going to be a long battle, he could tell. Even with one of the Azure Squad down.

**|Akartharto Kosmos – Tarumi Promenade|18:01 pm|**

Along the beautiful promenade, two young people were walking by the seaside, still dressed in their school uniforms. The sun was starting to set, adding to the romance of the scene. The boy looked at his girlfriend, and smiled, his cheeks turning red. They chatted about school, even if their year had been rather uneventful so far – aside from Teruko taking issue with the senpai her boyfriend had dared to chat with. She hadn't quite apologised for that, but for now, he planned to just leave it be, and enjoy their evening together.

The budding actor Noburo had fallen for Teruko Yoshikawa ever since they met during middle school. Everything about her was enchanting. The way her eyes looked at him, so intense. Her tough attitude, one that just didn't give up no matter who stood in her way. She only ever became soft around him, the only boy she had ever had eyes for – which she had made other rivals for his affections aware of.

"Noburo-kun..." Teruko said. They stopped for a moment, reaching the stone steps that lead to the sandy shore. "Let's walk along the beach. C'mon, it'll be fun."

"Okay!" Noburo said. They giggled, placing their shoes at a safe spot, and ran down onto the soft sand. It wasn't quite the weather yet for fooling around in the sea, but the beach was their favourite place in the city to go. Especially at this time of night, where they could be by themselves.

Teruko, much like Noburo, had a fondness for film and theatre. In fact, when they first met, she was auditioning for her first ever television commercial, and having heard of his various appearances, she asked him for help conquering her nerves.

_What was it I said to her? Oh yeah. 'Don't let anyone mess you around. Don't let anyone tell you this is just a small role. Because this is just one small step towards your dream. Our dream'._

"I still can't believe it. You're going to be in the best play ever written." Teruko said.

"I'm not sure about it being the best." Noburo said. "...The best I've ever auditioned for, perhaps."

"That's why it's the best!" Teruko said, giggling. "I'm going up for the role of Yuriko in  _Gaia's Devil_. I hope I can get it...it'll be my biggest role ever."

Noburo smiled, happily. "Don't worry so much. You were great when we were in that play together last year. It doesn't matter if hardly anyone came to see us. It gave us a change to explore our talents. Acting has always been my dream. Even if it's what he used to do..."

His smile faded at the thought of the man who had been his biological father. The man who he only had terrifying recollections of. Angry, alcohol-fueled shouting. Images of a man hitting his wife – Noburo's own mother – across the face, while the boy cried his eyes out. Even at fifteen, he still shuddered at these memories. Especially one of being trapped in a locked car, sinking deeper and deeper into the water...

"...Stop it." Teruko said, strongly, as she clung to him again. "Don't go down this route again. You aren't like him, at all."

"Teru-chan..."

"When you told me about him last year...you were crying so much." Teruko said, sadly. "No one can change what happened back then. But your father is Shigeru.  _Not_  Toki! I might not understood how it feels, having his blood in your veins. But believe me. Shigeru's the man who made you who you are today. The man I love more than anyone else! The man that convinced me I could be an actress!"

Noburo looked at her, tearfully, and smiled. She reached towards his face, and wiped away those tears. Then she brought him in closer for a long, passionate kiss, holding him as close to her as she could.

"...Thank you, Teru-chan." Noburo finally said. "I need to forget about Toki...whatever his name is."

The young girl, although hostile to most, laughed warmly. "You're the only one I can count on. No one but you understands just how much I care about my...no,  _our_ dream. On opening night, everyone's finally going to see how talented you are. I already know that for myself, of course..."

"You're pretty amazing too, Teru-chan." Noburo said, hands on her shoulders. "I'm going to remember tonight for a long time, I think."

"C'mon, let's wander for a bit. You'll be busy with rehearsals right after the Electric Sea gig. I want to enjoy as much time with you as I can."

The two loved-up teenagers continued their walk, casting aside their worries and doubts. All that mattered to them was each other. Perhaps others at Kansei found their love sickening, but it was earnest.

**|Theio Kosmos – Seabreeze Gardens|18:12 pm|**

"Giving up yet?" Aritomo said, his swords clashing with Shintaro's rapier. "C'mon! Where's your Persona?"

"Obviously, I've been hit by Obliviate." Shintaro said, icily.

"How many times have you read that series now?" Kei asked.

"Forty seven, at last count." Shintaro replied. Kei raised an eyebrow, but returned to the fight.

"Behold! Mermaid!"

Indeed, the Persona she summoned was none other than one Hisaya had once used. Setting her sights on Fumika, she hit her with Aqua.

"Oww!"

Ducking under Masato's club, she leapt towards Kei, and struck with her own blade. Her attacks were flashy, almost theatrical, but they were still strong. Shintaro sighed. As long as he was under this ailment, he couldn't do anything useful, other than swing his own rapier around. With the Gnosis, he looked upon his items, and choose a green liquorice candy. He pressed the icon, and it appeared in his palm.

Quickly, he swallowed it, and it finally came back to him. Forgetting how to use such a power was a major embarrassment – and he was about to get revenge. Looking at Akari, however, he felt she needed a boost.

"Sukukaja!"

Ogma's flash of green light aided her immensely. She was running circles around Aritomo, whacking him mercilessly with her tonfa – somewhat happily, too.

"Yay! Thanks, Shintaro! Whack-An-Aritomo ought to be a new game at Asakita!"

"Ugh..." Aritomo groaned. "Enough! Fumika, NOW!"

"Right..." Fumika said. She just barely avoided the flurry of Natsumi's attacks, as well as Masato's clubs, and found a safe spot – by jumping on top of the jungle gym. Yuki Jyorou set her eyes upon her fallen ally, and cast a Recarm, reviving her.

"Ugh...Fumika?" Konomi asked, still weary. "What happened?"

"These jerks knocked you out cold!" Fumika said. "Let's show them not to mess with us!"

"Exactly. But first..." Aritomo said. Raijuu emerged, and roared – creating a strange shield around Mnemosyne. This, as per the Gnosis' information on the battle, was called a 'Tetrakarn'. But Shintaro didn't know what that did at all.

"...What are they trying to do?" Natsumi asked. Suddenly, she was given a Tarukaja, a gift from her brother. "Hey, cool!"

"Show them the might of the Yoshinagas!" Masato cheered.

The red-haired sister grinned, her eyes as fiery as her Persona. She clicked her fingers, calling down Brigid, who span around for a few seconds – sending her Bladed Circuit at all four enemies. It hurt the Azure Squad plenty, but to her shock, it didn't seem to hurt the Goddess at all – rather, all the pain got sent back at Natsumi, and she collapsed from the pain.

"No..." She said, crying out in pain. A Diarama, however, came just in time to restore her. "Huh?"

"Thanks, Epona." Akari said, gently. "C'mon. We need to focus all our attacks on that ugly old goddess. And I think I know how. Let's experiment!"

"Okay, but I'm terrible at chemistry at school..." Natsumi said, sadly.

"Really? Me too!" Akari said happily. "But this test ought to work out great!"

Brigid and Epona appeared high in the sky, and the former sent out a massive bombardment of fireballs, radiating fierce heat. The latter goddess, using her power over the mind, guided the balls with telekinesis, charging them with a pink hue. With her manipulation, they rained down one by one on Mnemosyne, severely scalding her.

" **Pyrokinesis**!"

The severe burns inflicted seemed to have stunned her, as she fell forward, clinging to the ground to keep from falling. Her eyes seemed to be weeping, and her skin had been completely charred. Now, it was time for the boys to follow up, with nothing held back.

"Garu!" Shintaro shouted. His fierce wind hit the goddess, causing another scream.

"Zio!" Masato cheered, shocking Mnemosyne with high voltage.

"Bufula!"

Kei summoned Jack Frost, who hee-helpfully called down rather thick ice to strike the goddess.

" **ARGH!"**

Screaming in absolute agony, the goddess, no longer possessing any of the grace she had earlier, started convulsing, her body struggling to contain itself.

"How do you like that?" Kei said, triumphatly.

The Azure Squad stared at this sorry sight, and as she cried, little by little, purple embers flew from their heads, fading. As they did, they made a startling realization.

"No..." Fumika said, in horror, gazing at her hands. "Those memories weren't real...we've been fooled! Just like they kept saying..."

"That's right. We were sent to destroy this disgusting abomination, not  _serve_  it!" Konomi said, disgusted with herself.

"We shouldn't have let ourselves be deceived." Aritomo bemoaned. "Now's the time to finish her off. Everyone, on my mark! We'll act as one!"

"Right!" Fumika and Konomi said, summoning their Personas. Aritomo's appeared as well, and cast the powers of fire, ice and electricity into a single point, which emitted a strange gust of multicoloured air at Mnemosyne, charged with the three elements.

" **What?! No! No! I demand that you cease what you're doing at once -"**

" **Arcane Breath**!"

The bizarre air completely smothered the Memory Goddess, blasting her with a blend of fierce elements. Mnemosyne, in deep shock, became rigid. The flames of her wig coated her entire body, and she started to 'melt' back into the pond, shrieking.

" **NO! Why?! I was supposed to be free...That man, he tricked me! They paid him more than I did...didn't they?! I'll...I'll never forgive you, Akemi...!"**

Her body finally reverted to just a bizarre liquid, and the pool it fell into evaporated into nothingness. Akari almost vomited from the sight, but kept her composure. Concerned, she went over to the Azure Squad.

"Hey...you okay?" She asked their leader.

"Yeah. Thanks." Aritomo said. "How about you two?"

"We're okay now..." Fumika said, looking at Masato. "...Senpai."

"What?! You're in Chieki too?" Masato said. "I don't remember you..." Fumika looked away, red in the face, and looked to the others.

"I'm sure you've figured it out. We're the Azure Squad. Rivals of Hisaya and the boys. Until recently..." Konomi said. "What happened to them was..."

"Let's retreat for now. You helped us break free of Mnemosyne's mind control. To fight you after that would be to repay kindness with dishonour." Aritomo said, yet he was ill at ease. "Even if you aren't on our side, we could have died without you. This doesn't mean we can avoid fighting in future, however."

"...I know." Shintaro said, calmly. "We'll be prepared."

"Then let's go, you two." Aritomo said. "...We'll report to our commanders later."

"Got it. Let's hurry back." Konomi said. She and Aritomi walked off without another word, while Fumika stayed behind. She smiled slightly at Masato, waved, and ran off after her friends.

"So she's at school with us?" Masato said. "What about the other two, are they at Chieki?"

"Who knows...or cares?" Natsumi said. "They're like the opposite of the Claret Squad in every way."

"I know. That was why I didn't want to fight them." Kei said, wistfully. "Maybe, just maybe, they'll realise they're on the wrong team. If we can change their minds, without using these cores or our Personas, then we can beat Bythos easily."

Just then, Kohaku ran onto the scene, accompanied by Novalie.

"Everyone! Are you alright?" Novalie asked, inspecting everyone carefully. "It looks like you're all unharmed."

"Not this time...it was a tough fight, though." Shintaro said, feeling exhausted.

"Then let's go back and heal you all up." Kohaku said. "Akari, how are you feeling?"

Akari smiled, giving her a thumbs up. "Great! It was a little scary, but we showed it whose boss!"

"Well done! Looks like we did the right thing in recruiting you." Novalie said, happily. "Let's go back to the hotel. I made some gorgeous eclairs last night. You'll love them, trust me!"

The group started to walk to the hotel, but as they did, Shintaro ponded on what Mnemosyne had said to him.

_Who is 'Akemi'? One of the Aeon Administrators? He's probably one of them, but 'they paid you more than I did'? What does that mean? What does any of this mean? Every time we fight these kinds of Shadows, I get even more confused. I'll ask everyone what they think later. For now, I'm just going to eat some of Novalie's baking, and relax._

**|Akartharto Kosmos -Tarumi Promenade|19:00 pm|**

Having walked along the promenade's stone path, Kaii Murayama had taken a seat on one of the newly installed wooden benches, each one perfectly arranged. The sun was starting to set, casting it's orange colour upon the sea. It normally was soothing to watch, but this young man's heart was swelling with shame, fear, and dread.

Everything on Sunday had gone catastrophically wrong, and most of the Aeon Admins and Pleroma Princess had no sympathy. He had not only failed to gather the required data from Inoue Bank Monolith, he had lost against Netuno. In the process, he had also lost Akari, both as a potential ally, and as a friend. What he would do next, he had no clue.

_How could I let this happen? I thought my Persona was really strong. I should have beaten Netuno easily. If Akari hadn't shown up, I'd have stolen that data and gone before that blue-haired asshole showed up. Dammit! And now everyone in Bythos thinks I'm a total flake. Still, did the Princess didn't have to grill me in front of everybody. I mean, it's not like the star athlete needs any more ammo to make fun of me. Is there anyway I can earn their trust? I need this group, more than anything._

"Yo. You're looking thoughtful tonight."

Kaii looked to his right, and saw Toki standing there, with a sympathetic smile. Rather than don his Theio Kosmos outfit, he simply had a grey and black layered t-shirt and jeans on.

"Funny. I thought I didn't put any thought into my actions." Kaii said, sadly. "Maybe Keiya was right -"

"Oh, screw Keiya. All he knows how to do is make flinging around cards seem less boring." Toki said, shaking his head, as he sat next to his friend. "I had your corner the whole time, y'know. You gave it your all out there, didn't you?"

"Yeah...of course I did. Thanks, man. Hey, you know why I'm in Bythos, don't you?" Kaii asked. "There's no way I'll ever find what I'm looking for if I keep failing missions like this. The Azure Squad must hate following a total loser like me."

"Okay, put a sock in it." Toki said. "They call me a loser all the time. Not that I can blame them. Everything that went down's all over the internet if you know how to find it. All you can do is bear it...shoulder the responsibility, and go on."

Kaii turned back to the sea, and watched as he saw some birds fly by. He didn't know what kind they were, but there was something beautiful about them. The way they flapped their wings, so free.

"Hey. You're going quiet on me. Normally, I can't shut you up." Toki said, smirking. "Is yesterday getting you down that much? You gotta have a thicker skin. Believe me, I've heard a lot worse. Especially when Kaiyo left me, with Noburo. She screamed louder than I even thought a woman could."

"...That must have hurt you a lot." Kaii said.

"...It still does, kid. More than anything you know." Toki said. "If I had just stayed away that night...if I hadn't put Noburo in the car, and drove off way over the speed limit...then..."

The two of them were quiet again, staring idly at the shore. Various people were walking past, happily engaging in chit chat, some loved up young couples sharing kisses, and some older couples still enjoying each other's company after many decades of married bliss.

"...I wonder if my mother was like that with my dad?" Kaii said to himself. "Sorry. You're probably sick of hearing about -"

"Nope. Not one bit." Toki said. "Besides, you could use a friend right about now. Even if it is this loser."

"Okay. Well..." Kaii said. "I never actually told you my mother's name, did I? I mean, she did live here once, before she ran off to Nagoya. That's where I was born, and where my aunt and uncle raised me."

"Oh really? I don't remember meeting anyone called Murayama before you -"

"That wasn't my mother's surname, though. Murayama comes from her sister and her husband, the people who raised me. They thought it'd be easier if I had their family name." Kaii said.

"Alright, so c'mon, hit me. What's your mom called? Maybe I met her back when I was still Black Mask."

"Reiko Hasegawa."

Toki was silent. He looked at Kaii, frozen.

"Reiko, huh...?"

"What? You know her?" Kaii asked.

"The name rings a bell..." Toki said, yet he seemed uncertain.

"It does?!" Kaii asked, excitedly. "C'mon, think! Did you actually meet her?"

"...Yeah, I did." Toki said, after a moment of thought. "Did she have really dark hair?"

"Yes!" Kaii said, beaming. "I don't remember her that well...she died from lung cancer when I was five. But...finally, someone that knows her!"

"I didn't know her that well..." Toki said, not quite able to look Kaii in the eye. "Sorry. I don't know if she had a man. I used to see her around my old neighbourhood, before it got turned into Chiho...but we weren't that close. I wish I could tell you more, but..."

"Oh..." Kaii said, dejected. Toki put his arm around his shoulder, rather tightly, and sighed.

"Kid. You might think you've all alone in this city, and that no one cares. But I'm with ya now, and don't forget that." The older of the pair said, ruffling the junior's hair. "C'mon, let's go grab some ramen or something. My treat."

"Awesome. Thanks, man." They stood up, and as they did, they saw two high school students walking down on the beach, their shoes off. It was just then that the young Aeon Admin noticed two pairs of shoes by the steps, one of them quite larger than the other. "Oh, look! Two young lovebirds! Cute, huh? I never had a romantic walk on the beach with any of my girlfriends..."

Toki simply stared at them, somewhat in a daze, but as soon as the two teenagers glanced in their direction, he quickly walked away, and hurriedly beckoned Kaii to follow. Unsure what to do, he joined him.

_He's acting weird tonight. Does he know those kids? Wait..._

"That wasn't Noburo, was it?" Kaii asked. "Your son? With that girl?"

"...Yeah. That's him." Toki said, stopping. He turned and faced Kaii, with a stony expression. "He's so much bigger than I thought he'd be at this age. Fifteen, huh..."

"Let's go back and talk to him. He's not seen you since...oh..."

"Since I nearly got us both killed? No way he'll want to talk to me again. You understand, don't you?! If he sees me and tells that asshole Shigeru, that's just going to make things worse for all of them. And us. Don't go near him either. Promise me!"

"Okay...I won't approach him."

They left the area in silence, but Kaii couldn't help but wonder. Perhaps there was something he could do to bring the estranged father and son together. Could a Cognition Core do the trick? Even if it was only a small one? He would dwell on this later – for now, he just had to keep his friend and ally happy.

_One of these days, I'll figure out something that will help you. After all, you're one of the only friends I've got left._


	20. A Son's Choice Leads to Strength

**|Saturday, April 22nd|Sodai Concert Hall – Outside|17:45 pm|**

The fated day had come. Aika Makino's concert was tonight, and it had completely sold out. In fact, Kohaku had been lucky to get tickets at all. She thought about it, long and hard, but finally asked Natsumi if she wanted to go. They would make a girl's night out of it, she thought. The two girls had arrived, after heading home to get changed in their best outfits.

"Wow. You've always been able to rock that orange colour, haven't you?" Natsumi asked, as she arrived in her favourite pink dress. Kohaku had an orange one, with long brown tights and fancy orange heels, complete with some matching bangles and a red jewel necklace.

"I guess. Like how you're always in pink." Kohaku said, grinning. "Too bad Chieki has that awful green uniform."

"Oh come on, Kansei's purple isn't that nice. Besides, you always go for an orange blazer anyway." Natsumi said, pouting. "How come you didn't go with Shintaro, or someone else?"

"Well..." Kohaku said, thinking to herself. "It's been so long since the two of us spent some time together. Now that we're talking again, and kicking ass together in the Theio Kosmos, we should have more girl's nights out. Don't you think?"

"I did miss spending time with you..." Natsumi said. "After some of things I said about you and Shintaro-kun, I never thought you'd want to speak to me ever again. And I wouldn't have blamed you either."

"That's enough of that. We're older and wiser now. Well, as wise as two sixteen year olds can be." Kohaku said, giggling. "Anyway, believe me, you're going to love hearing Aika live. I've heard all of her music."

"What's the story behind her, anyway? Wasn't she in some really controversial band?" Natsumi asked.

"Yeah, that's right. The manager turned out to be a complete perv. She quit before that scandal broke, though, and they replaced her with some other girl. Without Aika, they had no talent at all. Then it all came out. Their manager tried to deny it all, but there were so many stories about him and the other girls he'd worked with..." Kohaku said, shuddering. "Eventually, he got fired, the band split up for good, and now Aika reigns supreme."

"What a creep. At least no one else has to suffer at his hands." Natsumi said, indignantly. "C'mon, let's grab our seats. I just hope nothing goes wrong in the Theio Kosmos tonight..."

They ventured inside, and managed to get the seats. Soon, they would be witnessing one spectacular show – yet not far away, another event would take place, with an even greater impact on those witnessing it.

**|Tarumi – Oracle Cinema|17:56 pm|**

Noburo and Teruko were leaving one of the many screens here, having watched an enjoyable foreign comedy. They still giggling as they reached the front doors, their faces hurting from laughing so much.

"Wow..." Noburo said, still trying to curb his giggling. "That elevator scene...amazing!"

"It was perfect! We got so many angry stares from those jerks in front, but who cares! It was the best film I've seen all year!" Teruko said, still in peals from laughter. Seeing her laugh always made her boyfriend smile – and usually join in.

As they left, Noburo saw an older boy, perhaps about 20, hanging around. He looked quite tall, just about the young actor's impressive height, and well built. Yet he had a boyish, almost innocent look in his face. When he saw the younger boy, he looked panicked, and suddenly walked away.

_Huh? What's wrong with him? Do I know him from somewhere?_

"C'mon, let's go eat somewhere. I want to try that Spanish tapas place. Please?" Teruko said, with her most innocent smile. "I promise I won't complain this time if they're out of my favourite dish..."

"How can I resist that face. Let's do it, senorita!" Noburo said, putting aside his earlier confusion. He kissed his cherished girlfriend on the cheek, and reached to check his wallet – but he couldn't seem to find it. "Oh no..."

"What is it?" Teruko asked, concerned.

"I left my wallet in there. Sorry, can you wait out here for a moment? I'll be right back." Noburo said. She nodded, albeit a little annoyed, and he ran inside back to the screen. Most of the staff had seen him many, many times, and waved at him. A large amount of their ticket sales had been through him and his family, and he loved coming here. With any luck, he could grab his wallet and go for another romantic evening with his beloved.

As he walked to his row, he felt strange. Like a pulsing sensation in his head, that wouldn't go away. Trying to ignore this, he found his seat, and to his relief, saw his wallet, a black one he got in an attempt to look more mature. It went straight into his pocket – but when he started to walk away, something happened. He felt a massive pain in his head, and everything momentarily went blank.

**|Tarumi – Oracle Cinema?|18:03 pm|**

When Noburo's vision returned, everything felt entirely different. The movie screen looked the same, but there were no sounds, and the screen completely went dead. He thought he had heard glass shattering around him, too, but saw nothing around him but rows of empty seats.

"What happened?" Noburo asked himself, a chill going down his spine. "Am I just...really tired?"

He heard something behind move behind him. Anxious, he turned around, and screamed out loud, falling backwards. There was indeed someone else here, but they sure weren't human, nor were they friendly.

"What the hell is that thing?!" He shrieked.

" **You have spoken unwisely, foolish one. Do not think you can leave here alive. Do you commit this outrage knowing that I am Mahamayuri?"**

The yellow-skinned figure seemed to be a Buddhist god with four arms, each carrying different items, one of which was a yellow lotus flower, another peacock feathers, and the other two appeared to be carrying fruit. He had a handsome face, albeit with a haughty expression, and was rather ornately decorated with graceful wings and peacock feathers.

"W-Whoa?!" Noburo said. "You're not human at all! I have no idea who you are...What's going on in this world?"

" **Those with power rule this world. This is the battlefield, a precipitous peak. I shall bring all my might to bear in defeating you. Can you overcome the power that reigns over this land?"**

"Stop! I...I don't want to die! My girlfriend is outside, waiting for me. Please, just let me go?"

" **A ignorant mortal like you, lacking my grace, has a girlfriend? She can wait a thousand years for all I care. Die, now -"**

Before 'Mahamayuri' could strike with unknown power, something else struck him rather powerfully. A pair of scissors made out of pure energy. Startled, Noburo got to his feet, and looked up. Another figure was right in front of the Buddhist god, one of Celtic origin.

" **What?! Show yourself, you cretin!"**

A young man, the same one that Noburo saw earlier, leaped down from the ceiling, through a hole that had yet to have been fixed.

"Eat THIS!"

**|Sodai Concert Hall|18:06 pm|**

The audience, having waited for several minutes, screamed as the light shone on the stage. There, dressed in a dazzling pink dress, sleeveless and elegant, was the dainty Aika Makino, now a celebrated singer-songwriter in her own right. Having cast aside the shadow of her idol days, she had enraptured a new audience, the most enthusiastic was none other than an exuberant Kohaku.

"Hello, everyone!" Aika said, taking the silver microphone. "It's wonderful to finally be here. As some of you know, it's not been easy getting my real music out there. Until this year, I was starting to feel it was hopeless. But, every disappointment is a new journey. I've made some wonderful friends that have helped heal my heart, dampen my sorrows, and made it possible to start anew."

_New friends, huh? Whoever they are, they must be really incredible if they inspired her this much._

"This concert is based on my new album's material. Performing live is something I used to do a lot back when I was with my old band. Now that I'm able to do this solo, I have nothing more to fear. Let's begin!"

She moved slowly to the piano, and the lights dimmed. The minute she began playing, the audience fell silent, almost under her spell. This was everything Kohaku was hoping it'd be. A local talent finally rising to glory.

_This is perfect! I bet no one else is having such a great night. Oh yes, Noburo and his girlfriend will be seeing Netuno perform. That's going to be awkward, isn't it? Oh, who cares! I love this music!_

The concert continued, with Aika's powerful vocals and the ethereal piano melodies capturing the heart and soul of the entire audience. It was nothing like any concert Kohaku had been to before, and even better, the girl she was sitting next to was no longer an enemy. Yet further within Tarumi, more trouble was brewing.

**|Theio Kosmos – Oracle Cinema|18:14 pm|**

It all happened too fast for young Noburo to understand. The mystery man was able to command 'Grannus' to attack the strange being, made of a shadowy energy. It tried its best to attack with the power of both wind and what appeared to be psychic energy, but failed, and Kaii's power prevailed. The god knelt down, slowly dissipating.

" **I can't believe this...I've been slain! We are born from humanity, yet we are slain by them. Must humanity destroy everything they create? What a disgusting world...may I never suffer here again!"**

The god's body vanished, leaving just Noburo and the other man. There was an awkward silence, as the mystery man checked his phone.

"Um...uh...thanks for saving me." Noburo said. "But what the hell is going on?"

"Looks like you're okay. Thank god." The man put aside his phone, and smiled. "It's good to meet you, kid. My name's Kaii Murayama." He held out his hand to shake.

"Okay..." Noburo said, raising an eyebrow, as he shook Kaii's hand.  _The way he's acting, you'd think we were at one of my dad's dinner parties, not fighting strange gods with too many arms._  "I'm Noburo Komatsu."

"Nice." Kaii said. "Don't worry, that jerk's staying dead."

"Fine, but – oh my god! Where's Teruko?! She's okay, isn't she? There aren't more things than that snotty four-armed freak, are there?"

"Whoa, easy!" Kaii said, putting his arms on the younger boy's shoulders. "Your girlfriend is safe. Here's the thing. This world may look a lot like the one you know, but it's not the same. It exists parallel – right in the same spot. They can't see each other. So back in the normal world, your girl is safe and sound."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Noburo asked. He didn't usually swear, but his confusion and fear were rising, and he didn't care how outwardly friendly this Kaii seemed to be. "Listen, whatever the hell just happened, I want to get back outside and find Teruko! She'll be wondering what's taking so long!"

Kaii shook his head. "Thing is, you don't have the means to go between worlds. You went through a 'crack' of some kind, but those are only temporary. This phone I got is the only way to go back and forth normally."

"...Then you'll just have to take me back yourself, won't you?" Noburo said, marching closer to Kaii. The older boy got flustered, looking away. "Wait. That crack you mentioned. Was it...you?!"

Kaii didn't respond. He let out a heavy sigh, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Answer me, you total flake!"

"Whoa, what's with the name calling? Not cool, bro." Kaii said. "Okay. I'm gonna be honest with you. There are a lot of other people like me that I'm working with. One of them...is someone I think you should meet."

"Thanks, but as you might have heard, I already  _have_  a girlfriend -"

"Not like that!" Kaii said. "I don't want to give it away just yet. But he really wants to see you again, believe me. Come with me, okay? He's not too far from here. Once we're done, then you can go back to Teruko."

"...You seriously got me stranded in this other world just to meet this guy?" Noburo asked, frowning. Kaii nodded, but he looked away, unable to bear the young actor's harsh stare.

Fine, whoever this guy is, hurry up and take me to him..." He was still infuriated, but without a means to defend himself in his alternate world, he had no choice but to follow this Kaii around. "Where exactly is he?"

"At the big theatre in Tarumi." Kaii said. "I'll explain as we go. Don't worry. If we run into any more Shadows like Mr. Peacock, I'll crush them."

"...Fine. This better be worth my while." Noburo said, annoyed. The two of them walked out of the screen and through the empty movie theatre, with no one in sight. For someone with such power, Kaii had a harmless air about him. Yet he kept hoping this would turn out to be all a dream. Or that his father would come and get him away from here.

_Yeah, right. My dad's probably never been to this other world. How he's gonna find out I'm here?_

**|Shigeru's Office|18:27 pm|**

It had been a invigorating day at work, with Shigeru approving several key documents and making some productive calls with the government in Tokyo. For most of his working life, his passion for his career had been applauded, especially by his lifelong friend Yuko. To be working right alongside her in such a prominent office was challenging, yet so fulfilling.

Just as he was about to leave the office, his mobile phone rang. He didn't recognise the number, but he decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello, Komatsu speaking?"

"Oh! This is Noburo's dad, right? It's Teruko!"

_What? Why is she phoning me now? Did he give her my number in case of emergencies? Then..._

"Yes, it's me. What's the matter?" Shigeru asked.

"Have you heard from Noburo since this morning? Only, we went to see a movie after school, and he went back inside because he forgot his wallet...and I can't find him anywhere! The staff said they saw him go in, but they never saw him leave! I don't know what to do..."

Shigeru stood there, comprehending this. His son, disappearing? Leaving his girlfriend high and dry? That wasn't like Noburo at all. Something was up. His heart felt tense, and there was a huge shiver down his spine.

"Haven't you tried phoning him?" He finally asked.

"At least ten times! But nothing...it was fully charged last time I saw him look at it!" Teruko shouted. "Please, do something. This is really scary...what if Bythos got to him?!"

"...I'll check with him and his mother. I'll call you back. Try not to panic." Shigeru said, trying to be calm, yet he just couldn't convince himself. Teruko hung up, still frantic, and he just stood there, anxiety overtaking.

He tried calling his son's mobile, but nothing. Now his panic was rising ever steadily. He then dialled his wife's number, and she answered quickly.

"Hi, darling! Are you on your way home?" Kaiyo asked.

"Just heading out. Listen, have you heard anything from Noburo this evening? He was out on a date with Teruko, but he seems to have vanished."

"...What? No, I haven't heard anything..." Kaiyo said, concerned. "Should we call the police?!"

"No, not yet. Leave it with me. I'll find him soon enough. I promise." Shigeru said.

"A-Alright...please, be careful." Kaiyo said, sounding rather peturbed. The call ended, and Shigeru stood there in silence.

There could be no other explanation, in his eyes. Someone had abducted Noburo into the Theio Kosmos. Most likely none other than the one who had once been his father.

"...DAMMIT!" Shigeru screamed, banging his fist on his desk. His hatred for the man burned hotter than any flame, and he had no intention of letting this slide. Whatever Toki had planned for Noburo, he would put a stop to it and bring his son home.

_You may be his biological parent. But you're no father to him. You had plenty of choices, and now you're nothing to him but the occasional nightmare. Ever since Noburo called me father for the first time...he's been part of my life. I can't...I won't imagine life without him. I have to save him. Now!_

There was no time to lose. He would call for everyone to arrive as soon as possible. That |included Noburo's own senpai, at least, the ones that were available.

**|Grand Laguna Hotel|18:35 pm|**

There was a tense atmosphere, as the group assembled – sans Kohaku, Natsumi, and the sixth senior member, who remained an enigma. All they had been able to ascertain was that they were an older woman, but they were rather elusive.

"...Is this everyone that could make it?" Shigeru asked, barely able to contain his anger.

"Y-Yes, Shigeru-san." Novalie said, nervous.

"What's the situation?" Hiroyuki asked, full of concern.

"My son...Noburo. He's been abducted by Bythos, just like Shintaro was."

The group was deathly quiet. The boys and Akari were shocked, looking at each other.

"What?! But I saw him leaving school with that Teruko girl..." Akari said, stunned.

"This is bad...we've got to do something." Shintaro said. "Noburo's a good kid. I've only spoken to him a few times, but -"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. He's got a kind, honest heart. That's the feeling I get from him." Akari said.

"Where was he when it happened?" Netuno asked.

"He was in the Tarumi Movie Theatre with Teruko. After he went back inside to find his wallet, he never came outside. No one saw him leave, but plenty of the staff watched him go in. They checked the fire exits, but nothing. I called the theatre myself to double check." Shigeru said. "...Dammit! This is all Toki Hayashi's fault! That fucking piece of shit has taken my son!"

"Hey!" Reia said, standing up. "You're not going to get him back by swearing and screaming at the top of your lungs. We need a plan. First step is to look at Tarumi in more detail. I've a feeling he's probably still there."

"Good point. Let me show you all something." Hiroyuki said, taking control of the projector with his Gnosis. It displayed a grid map of Tarumi, with prominent buildings indicated with red dots. These included the Sodai Concert Hall, the Oracle Cinema, Kujou Dancing School, Tomochika Comedy Club, the rather posh Swan Libraries function room, and the Aoi Studio, which was where Electric Sea recorded their material.

"Sodai is where Kohaku and my sis are tonight..." Masato said. "You don't think they're in danger, do you?"

"We didn't detect that building being massively different in this Komos, so it's probably not there. Out of all these buildings, we did detect a slight increase at the Kyutai Playhouse." Hiroyuki said, pointing to another building.

"I've been setting up some cameras around Tarumi recently. Don't worry, they only capture footage in the Kosmos they're installed in. It's just a way of monitoring and studying Shadows...but if I go to the cameras at the Playhouse, we can see what's going on around there." Reia said, pulling out her laptop from her stylish purple bag.

"You didn't put any in our studio, did you?" Netuno asked, wary.

"Not in the Theio Kosmos, anyway. Or in the Akartharto, for that matter. I hear enough of your music as it is -"

" _Enough_! Just shut the fuck up and find out if my son's in there or not! NOW!" Shigeru bellowed. Akari flinched from the volume, while Masato gripped her hand tightly to calm her down. No one had seen him like this before – and no one dared to make his mood even worse, if they could avoid it.

Without any more pauses, Reia opened a camera feed on her laptop, for the outside area of the right hand side entrance to the Playhouse. It showed several high end stores and businesses, including a major law firm that Hideki's fiancée Setsuna worked at, but nothing particularly interesting except for a happy looking Cu Sith chasing a rather flustered Cait Sith.

"Um..." Masato mumbled.

Reia didn't respond, and immediately moved onto the left most entrance. She rewound the footage, hoping for a result. For a moment, there was nothing except the long path and the elegant street lights on either side, but after a moment, two figures appeared, walking in the dusk.

"Noburo!" Shigeru shouted, pushing Reia aside. Netuno glared hard at him, but said nothing. "What the – who is that man with him?!"

"It's...Kaii!" Akari said, shocked. "That's Kaii from work...and also of the Nine Aeon Administrators."

"That guy again? Not Toki...?" Netuno said. "Any audio?"

"One moment. I had to make do with a limited budget, so it's not the highest fidelity microphone ever." Reia said, adjusting the volume. She played back the short footage of the two men walking towards the doors.

" _It's going to be okay, Noburo. Those Shadows aren't going to get you when I'm around."_ Kaii said.

" _Dammit. Teruko's probably already called my dad and mom about this."_ Noburo grumbled.

" _Your dad, huh..."_ Kaii said. He seemed slightly annoyed by this, which seemed to rattle Shigeru even more. Reia gripped her laptop tightly, perhaps to protect it from any violent outbursts.

" _Look, this better not take too long. I already nearly got killed by that Mahamayuri. If this place is full of more things like that, I don't want to be in there for longer than I have to."_  Noburo said.

" _Relax. You got nothing to worry about, my little man. Although we're almost the same height, aren't we?"_

" _Yeah. In fact, you and I look kind of similar. Almost like...nah, it's nothing. Let's get this over with."_  said Noburo, somewhat anxious. The two disappeared from view, most likely heading inside the Theatre.

"...He's taking him to  _Toki_?! That fucking idiot!" Shigeru shouted. "That's it. I don't want any more delays. If the others aren't coming, so be it. We'll handle this ourselves. But I want to take care of Toki with my own hands. Are we clear?!"

"Yes, sir..." Akari said.

"Got it." Shintaro said. In actuality, his heart was racing. His brief time with Toki had not been pleasant, and having to be near him again was a harrowing prospect. Yet there seemed to be no alternative. He would have to face his fear, and do what he could to protect Noburo.

"The nearest Aeon Pathway to the Theatre we have so far is at Oracle Cinema...it'll only take five minutes from there. On your feet!  _Now_!"

The group warped to Tarumi, each one of them preparing themselves for another encounter with Toki and Kaii. There may be other dangers lying in wait, but with Shigeru's rage, they might just find the danger had come to them.

**|Kyutai Playhouse|18:49 pm|**

Despite the relative youth of this city, this theatre had existed for many decades, inspiring countless performers over the generations. Its foyer, carefully maintained as always, was spotless, with shiny brown marble flooring, grand Ionian columns through the entrance hall alone, grand arched windows with rich red curtains framing them.

There were some historical posters on the walls depicting some of the theatre's most well-loved shows, as well as a very trendy, albeit expensive, wine bar through a door to the right that the more affluent frequented before seeing a performance.

"You say you've been here before?" Kaii asked.

"Hundreds of times. Tarumi is like my playpen." Noburo said, smirking. As angry as he had been about being whisked away to this world, he was starting to enjoy talking to Kaii. "See that poster up there?  _Solar Ray_ , written in New Motus City. It's pretty good, I went to see it when I was ten. But you know that one next to it,  _Death By Moonlight_? I'm going to be in this year's performance."

"Holy cow. I didn't know I was with a famous actor." Kaii said, happily.

"Not 'famous', exactly..." Noburo said, blushing. "But it's been my dream, ever since I can remember. I just always liked watching old movies, and going to the cinema. I've been going up for auditions for all sorts. This is the biggest thing I've ever been in."

"You nervous?" Kaii asked, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, a lot..." Noburo said. "But everyone I know is supporting me. Come opening night, I'm going to wow that audience. And from there, onto new heights."

"Awesome. Wish I'd had that kind of ambition back when I was your age." Kaii said, sadly. "Truth is, kid...I flunked my entrance exams. I just couldn't do it. Something was holding me back. This huge empty feeling..."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Noburo said. "There's a lot more support for people like you these days, though. My dad works with education in the city. He's helping a lot of cram schools and their curriculum."

"You sure are proud of him, aren't you?" Kaii said, suddenly frowning. The boy nodded, a little unsure of his companion's reaction. "...I never knew mine. Still don't even know his name. You're a lucky kid, alright. Almost wish I was in your shoes."

Before Noburo could respond, there was a rush of footsteps. A group of three young people in blue uniforms ran down the carpeted stairs, their leader a male, the other two girls.

"Yo, Aritomo, my man!" Kaii said, casually waving. "What's up?"

"Murayama-san! We heard voices, so we thought we'd take a look. We...didn't expect this boy to be with you, though." Aritomo said.

"Ah, sorry about that." Kaii said, scratching his head. "This kid's Noburo. Don't worry about him. He's a good kid."

"Hold, on, miss, aren't you at my school?" Noburo said, looking at the girl with lilac hair. "Konomi?"

"Yes...I'm a first year student of Kansei." Konomi said, looking away. "I'm in the homeroom right next to yours and Teruko-san's. I've heard her get into fights with other girls many times. Mostly over you."

"Ah, good to see you're already friends!" Kaii said, cheerily, while the others stood there in awkward silence.

"Um...why is he here? Does he have a Gnosis yet?" The other girl said.

"Relax, Fumika, it'll be fine." Kaii said. "First, I gotta take him further inside, then we'll get him set up. I gotta hunch we might just have our tenth administrator."

_Administrator? Of what? This theatre? But these guys don't look like actors at all. Especially the girl with the blue hair, she looks so nervous even being herself._

"Oh..." Fumika said, forcing a smile. "That's...great! Right?"

"Right. Good luck." Aritomo said. "Were any other Admins coming here tonight?"

"Yeah. The big guy's gonna be here any minute. You guys go out on patrol for a bit, I can handle things here."

"Understood. We'll be on our way." Konomi said. The three left the theatre, leaving the two boys alone again.

"What was with those three?" Noburo asked.

"They're the Azure Squad, under my control. Well, mine and someone else's. And that someone else will be with us really soon. C'mon, let's go inside. I've asked him to meet us on the stage."

_This still isn't making any sense. Dammit, my head hurts. How the hell am I going to get back to the 'real' world? Am I ever going to see Teruko again? My parents? This Kaii seems nice enough, but what if we run into trouble that he can't save me from? I don't want to have to depend on anybody else. I want to be the one that protects people._

The two left through a door to the left, making their way to the grand stage that Noburo had witnessed many a performance on. Tonight, however, he might just be part of one himself...

**|Kyutai Playhouse – Stage|**

"Wow..." Noburo couldn't believe his eyes. "This is way better than I imagined!"

The two had waded through some hallways to reach here. Even without any of the sets or lighting up, just being on this stage like hundreds of other actors was a thrill. Soon enough, each one of the iconic red seats would be filled, watching a play that had been written right here.

"I know, right?" Kaii said. "This building in this world, or 'Kosmos', is usually empty. But lately me and my team are using it as a base of operations."

"...What kind of operations?" Noburo asked.

"Well, our group have the power to summon Personas, like I just did. We can use this world to uncover dark secrets of the real world, and enlighten the people. The city council has some really shady skeletons in their closets. Perhaps literally. So rather than let the people live in a false age of ignorance, we want to expose the secrets and let people be aware...so they can move towards a better future."

Noburo stared at him, now even more uncomfortable. Just what was he accusing Mayor Ashikaga of? He had known her since he was young, and she had attended his mother's wedding to Shigeru. That had been the day he called Shigeru 'dad' to his face, finally trusting him completely. He still remembered how happy the man had been to hear that, giving him a huge hug and the family celebrating with a huge crowd.

_Mayor Ashikaga was so nice even back then. And her daughter was there too. It was before that horrible break-in at her home..._

"Noburo. I'm going to give you something that I think will come in handy." Kaii said, interrupting the boy's thoughts. He reached into his coat's pockets, and pulled out a light blue smartphone – one that looked like the black one he had used earlier. "You need this to call your Persona here. It's how this world works. These help us move between worlds, fight the Shadows, other stuff."

Noburo slowly reached for the phone, but before his fingertips touched it, the doors to the stage swung open. There, standing looking somewhat annoyed, was a tall, muscular man with scruffy short dark hair. One that Noburo took a few moments to recognise.

When he did, he immediately hid behind Kaii, shaking. No, surely it couldn't be. Why this this man here? Kaii would protect him from this monster, right? Then it hit him. It had been this man that Kaii wanted Noburo to meet this evening. Why was this happening? Why did he have to be near him again?

"Okay, what's so important you called me out here for?" Toki said. "...Who's that hiding behind you, boy?"

"Don't get mad...hear me out." Kaii said, slowly, as Toki started to approach.

"...What have you done this time?" Toki asked.

Noburo had frozen – he had heard that voice many times throughout his nightmares sometimes, and it had never failed to scare him even as a teenager.

"I know you told me not to do anything. But...the longer the two of you are apart from each other, the more it's hurting you. And him too, I bet." Kaii stepped away, leaving a fear-stricken Noburo. The two locked eyes, both bewildered.

"...Nobu?!" Toki finally said. This had been the closest Noburo had been to his father, since that fateful time in the car. He had spent quite some time in the hospital after that night, and ever since then, his father had stayed away. Until now, it seemed. "It's...really you, isn't it?"

The son didn't speak at all. Terror had seized him. Nothing but awful memories were coming to his mind. Things he had heard his father say...

" _Shut the fuck up, you stupid woman! It's not my fault the stunt double died! They keep saying it's because I drink too much? Screw them! After all I did for that show, they just blacklist me! So get me another beer, now! What reason I got to stay sober now, huh?!"_

"...Are you okay, Noburo?" Kaii asked, somewhat foolishly.

" _GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH! YOU CAN'T TAKE NOBURO FROM ME! HE'S ALL I HAVE!"_

_This man...I can't..._

"Why the hell did you take me to him?!" Noburo shouted, tears streaming down his face. "Don't you have any idea why my mother left him? Why he's never been around?!"

"Noburo, I -"

"I could have died thanks to him!" Noburo yelled, heart pounding harder than it had ever done before. "He didn't tell you about that, did he? He tried to take me away from Mom! I was crying, begging him to let me out, but he just kept driving! On and on, and I had no idea where we were. And then...drunk behind the wheel, he goes offroad. It's the middle of winter. He drives the car straight into an icy pond...!"

"Kid..."

"Stop calling me that!" Noburo shouted, slapping Kaii's hand away. "When I was little, he...always used to come home, drunk. Mom would try to stop him, but he...he hit her! I kept seeing him doing it...and he kept saying he'd never do it again, he was so sorry, but it never stopped!"

Toki stood there, shameful, and gazed at his son with an agonizing face. Every single word from his son must have been like a knife at his heart. Being reminded of his past must hurt – which is what Noburo wanted. To finally express his hatred.

"Why the hell did you have to come to Shinshuto?!" Noburo shouted. "Everyone would be better off if you had just stayed in Tokyo. A stunt double died because you turned up to work drunk. You got arrested for punching three people in a bar. Whenever you're around, all you do is fuck things up and waste every opportunity that's handed to you! What kind of moron would you have to be to think I want anything more to do with you?!"

"...I-"

"Don't even bother!" Noburo said. "Kaii, you said these things help you go back and forth between the worlds, right? I'm going back to my world right now! If you follow me, my dad will have you both in jail!"

Quickly, he grabbed the spare Gnosis, and tried desperately to get it to work. Yet it seemed dormant. It wouldn't activate. If it wasn't going to send him to the 'Akartharto Kosmos', as he had heard it named, he was stuck here. With these two, his estranged father and his young comrade, who didn't seem particularly bright.

"Noburo. You can't get it to work, can you?" Toki finally said, still shaken from his son's words. "Please...give me a chance to help you."

"Toki -"

"Shut up, Kaii. This wasn't going to be some happy reunion – you knew that. I told you everything about how I fucked up my life! My career, my marriage, nearly killing my son..but did you listen to any of that? No, you didn't. Now you've just made everything a million times worse! The least we can do is get him back home, so he'll never have to see me again."

"But Toki, that's...that's not what you really want, is it?!"

"...It's him that matters. That's why I didn't go near him on the beach. Look at him. Being near me is hurting him."

_What? He saw me with Teruko last night?! How long has been around? Has he been watching me before?_

Noburo, still shaking at the sight of his father, had had enough. Even with a dud of a smartphone, he had to get out of here. He ran, back the way Kaii took him, down to the main entrance. He heard someone run after him – but he didn't falter. He ran ever faster.

**|Kyutai Playhouse – Entrance|**

Shintaro had barely stepped inside the theatre, and yet chaos erupted immediately. A door swung upon, and a boy in a Kansei uniform ran outside, incredibly frightened.

"Noburo!" Shigeru cried. The boy ran immediately into his arms, sobbing. "...You're not hurt, are you?!"

"N-No...I'm okay now." Noburo said. "He's here..."

"I know." Shigeru said. As if on cue, two others appeared from different directions. There was the boy that Shintaro assumed was Kaii, and the other was none other than his kidnapper. Toki.

"Get the hell away from me!" Noburo shouted, as Shigeru held him closer. "I...I won't join you!"

"So what was the plan here, boys?" Hiroyuki asked. "Trying to turn the boy against us? You've turned sinking to a new low into an art form."

"Sinking..." Toki said. That very word seemed to just lay there for him, painfully.

"Kaii..." Akari said. "What Toki did to Shintaro was bad enough. Do you have to repeat it with Noburo?"

"...Shintaro?" Noburo said, finally looking up. He let go, but stayed close to his step-father. "Senpai...?!"

"Yes." Shintaro said. "...Toki, I'm not going to run away anymore. You kidnapping me isn't going to break me. I'll prove to you who's right!"

Shigeru, without a flicker of emotion, cracked his knuckles, setting his sights on Toki. "You have no right to come near my son. And yet I can't just let you walk away. The police won't take kindly to your career with Bythos -"

"Shut up for a second.  _Your_ son?!" Toki shouted. "What makes him yours? He's my flesh and blood. Mine! I was there when he was born. You sure as hell weren't!"

"Didn't we discuss this before? Noburo still has nightmares about you. Even to this day, the winter is a miserable time of year for him. You've scarred him. Ever since I've known him...I've looked after him to the best of my abilities. I came here all this way to bring him back home. Once again, you've got his mother worried sick. Haven't you given Noburo and Kaiyo enough pain for one lifetime?"

"Maybe it doesn't have to be more pain..." Toki said, albeit his voice didn't seem confident. "But he's still my son! Maybe you're Kaiyo's new love, but to Noburo, you're just his step-father - not a real one!"

"...Dis Pater."

The Persona appeared, right at the same time as Shuten Doji. Noburo, looking at both these Personas, trembled.

"Netuno, Reia. Keep him out of harm's way. I need to take this slime down once and far all." Shigeru said. "Hiroyuki and Novalie, back me up."

"Should have known it'd come to this..." Toki said, as the soldier and college student went forth. "Fine. I'm not gonna lose this time."

"Damn you guys! Hold on, man, I'm -"

Before Kaii could wade in, Epona appeared in front of him, and her horse neighed at him angrily.

"No, Kaii. This man isn't your friend! He's every bit as nasty as Komatsu-san says he is..."

"You don't know him like I do!" Kaii said, angry. "Are...you really going to fight me?"

"Not by herself." Kei said, withdrawing her blade. "You'll see for yourself what happens when a Wild Card takes on a Joker."

"...Aren't they the exact same card?" Shintaro asked.

"Whatever. Let's just fight this clown. Then we can take them in for questioning. They're criminals, after all." Kei said.

"I didn't want to have to fight kids..." Kaii said ruefully. "But there's no way around these things, is there? I'm not going to hold anything back. Don't hate me if it hurts."

"Likewise. Epona!"

Akari let out a Psi spell via her Persona, igniting one half of the battlefield. Adding to the flames, however, was Kei. She called upon Jack O'Lantern, a brother of sorts to Jack Frost of the fire variety. With its flames of Agilao, she scorched Kaii rather fiercely.

"Ow!" Kaii said. He ran forward, and let out a flurry of rapid punches. Each one came harder than before, and Kei was knocked down, dazed. "Don't take me lightly..."

"You've more brawn than brains, at least." Shintaro said. "But don't think you'll get away with hurting Kei! Garu!"

A burst of wind hit Kaii, sending him spinning – and making him an easy target for Masato's club. Not quite finished, the sparks of Zio came crashing down from Camulus.

"Wow...pretty good Personas you got there. But I'm no slouch either! Grannus! Turn these guys into atoms! Or molecules, or...electrons? Whatever, just hit him with some magic!"

The Persona complied, unleashing the far-reaching Mafrei. The nuclear energies struck Shintaro and the others, quite harshly as well. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have the power to cause radiation poisoning, but it made Kaii no less dangerous.

"Atta boy, Kaii!" Toki said, flipping backwards – narrowly avoiding Novalie's blade. "You sure you wanna waste your time hanging out with these losers, girly?"

"Do not insult me. I do this for the peace of this city." Novalie said, standing her ground. Toki rushed at her, but she gracefully leapt out of the way, striking him with her sharp rapier. "Saga!"

A cluster of ice, in the form of Bufula, engulfed Toki, much to his surprise. Hiroyuki finally managed to get a good shot at him.

"Not bad, man..." Toki said. "Where'd you learn how to be such a good shot?"

"None of your business." Hiroyuki said, angrily. "Maihadare!"

Masamune pulled out another sword of its mighty collection, this time one that seemed to be made of pure ice. Its coldness was such that an icy mist was constantly emanating from it. It struck Toki hard across the chest, and shattered, leaving ice shards all over the floor.

"Damn...don't you feel sorry for whoever has to clean that up in the morning?" Toki asked, smirking.

"This isn't a game, you fool." Hiroyuki said. "Your group's disturbing the peace of this city. I swore an oath to protect Japan. Going down your route would have me end up the same way as you...alone and unloved."

"...That's it, you're going down!" Toki shouted. "Kagenui!"

Shuten Doji laughed ominously, as the area suddenly turned dark. There was a flash of light around Hiroyuki – as he was slashed by demonic swords. Another flash occurred for Novalie then Shigeru.

"You gonna give up yet?" Toki asked.

"I'll never yield to the likes of you." Shigeru said, adamantly. "Try as hard as you might. You'll never win. Megido!"

Toki gasped. A massive explosion of Almighty power was about to take hold of him, and before he could flee, he was caught in its blinding path, and faced the full brunt of it. Crying out in pain, he felt agony surge in every vein in his body – even more so when he was punched right across the face, crashing into one of the playhouse's potted plants.

"Alright!" Shintaro said. However, this distraction left him at Kaii's mercy, and his punches hit him hard in the stomach. "Argh..."

"You should focus more on me than those guys!" Kaii chided. "Aren't you supposed to be the smart boy?"

"Good point." Shintaro said. "Well then...Ogma!"

A Jet Flash hit the boxer harshly – and an even harsher sword hit from behind. It was a strange sensation, being teleported from one spot to another, but it was becoming second nature of Shintaro.

"Media!" Akari called to Epona, who helpfully gave her healing blessing to everyone. "I don't want to do this, Kaii..." She rushed forward, spinning her Tofa, and inspired somewhat by Natsumi, threw in some kicks.

"Neither do I, but..." Kaii said. "I'm not gonna leave Bythos. And you guys aren't going to join us. It's just how it is."

"At least you're not a jerk like Keiya." Masato said. "Or were you trying to have me killed as well?"

"Oh, you former bully, I'm not a murderer." Kaii said. "Yeah, I know about what you and your sis got up to. Asami-chan sure talks a lot – and it was some pretty shitty stuff you did. How the heck did they forgive you?"

"I saw for myself...how far he was willing to go for me." Shintaro said, thinking back to that fateful night on the Chieki Academy rooftop. "Your EX-NIHILO nearly killed me, but he risked his own life to stop it."

"...That so?" Kaii said, ducking under Masato's bat. However, he was too slow to avoid an Iron Impact, which hit him painfully hard in the head.

The redhead nodded, angry. "Truth is, I'll probably never forgive myself for letting things get so bad. But I wanted a chance to make things right. You're probably the same about your own life, aren't you?"

"There must be a better way to turn your life around than fighting alongside Bythos. You, Toki, Keiya, Asami, and everyone else." Kei said gently.

"If there is, I wish I knew what it was..." Kaii said, despondent. "But I failed my exams, got kicked out of my home, no other family to fall back on. I'm not like you guys...I don't have what it takes to find my own happiness."

"That's not true!" Akari said, in despair. "You musn't think that like! I know we haven't known each other very long, but your life is more valuable than that. I know that much!"

"Sorry...but I can't stop fighting now. Not when I'm so close to my goal." Kaii said. "Atomic Scissors!"

Shintaro gulped – in a flash, he was under attack from Grannus and his nuclear shears. The energy from the cut was intense, and he cried out, his scream echoing throughout the place. He thought he heard Noburo's voice, but the pain made it hard to focus.

Kei stared at Kaii right in the eyes, and he recoiled from the harshness of her gaze. "You're only taking the easy way. By ignoring your own worth and siding with Bythos, you're losing touch with your real self. If the only way we can resolve this is via battle, then...it's sadder than words can describe. Persona!"

A new Persona emerged, this time a half-human, half-snake being of Hindu mythology – a Naga. With a Giant Slice, it attacked Kaii with great vigour.

"Keep it up, Kaii!" Toki called from across the hall. However, he was getting quite flustered, with all the punches Shigeru was throwing at him. Clearly, the man's karate lessons had kept him fighting fit over the years, and had Toki not had a Persona, he would have few unbroken bones.

"You don't expect to last much longer, do you?" Shigeru said. Novalie's role as a medic had served the team well, much to the former tokusatsu star's chagrin. However, the sure power Toki possessed made it hard to keep up.

"I got plenty of energy to spare!" Toki said, full of vim and vigour. His blades struck hard and fast, cutting into Hiroyuki rather painfully.

"Hiroyuki-san?!" Novalie cried out.

"Ugh...I'm okay! Don't waste all your energy healing us. Attack!" Hiroyuki barked.

"Alright." Novalie said, valiantly calling upon Saga. "Freezing Tonic!"

Sága flew over Toki and turned her urn upside down – and with her hand gestures, she turned the water that flowed from it unbearably cold. When it touched his body, it froze over, but not before his face changed to an expression of sheer terror.

"That look suits you!" Novalie said, doing a bow to her allies.

Alas, Toki broke free, and despite the cold he had been subjected to, his anger was burning hot. His swords slashed straight at Novalie, who shrieked, barely able to block this onslaught.

"If you're screaming this much, you should head back to college instead of fighting us!" Toki snarled. "Don't think you can beat us by being all dainty – argh!"

He had been hit by one of Hiroyuki's bullets, before he could finish his tirade.

"You shouldn't insult my friend like that." Hiroyuki said. Although he seemed calm, his eyes were full of fury. "Let's just say that neither of the Shadows we've faced have compared to your malevolence."

"Are we really just gonna hurl insults at each other?" Toki said, exasperated.

"You kidnapped a child days ago. I have no kind words to say to you." Hiroyuki said. "Masamune!"

The ensuing rain of tanto forced Toki to act fast – he managed to avoid most of them, but a fair few had pierced him, and they hurt deep. Lashing out, his swords hit his nearest opponent – Shigeru.

"I should have known I'd end up coming to blows with you." The education minister said, darkly. "Ever since I learned about you from Kaiyo, I just had a feeling you wouldn't stay away forever."

"Can't believe she settled for a stiff like you." Toki said, barely avoiding a jab to the face. "Touched a nerve?"

"You've been on my nerves the entire time I've known your name." Shigeru said. "How could you lay a hand on that woman? Kaiyo didn't deserve that. No woman does."

"I..." Toki said, dropping his smirk. "I know..."

"Do you really?" Shigeru asked. "...She still won't let anyone see the scar you left on her body. You can barely even see it, but it still terrifies her. No matter how far you go, the pain you inflicted never leaves."

"Dad..." Noburo whimpered.

Toki looked to his son, but he glanced away. Sighing, he called down Shuten Doji. With his demonic blades, he pulled off another Nakishigure, this time even sharper than before.

"...Argh!" Shigeru shouted. "Your blades won't be enough to stop me!"

"Neither's anything you have!" Toki taunted. He regretted saying this, however, when the imposing Dis Pater appeared in front of him. The energy claws it wielded grew in size, and their glow became a scarlet red. It impaled Toki with both Wraith Claws, and forced him off onto the ground with a blast of dark red power.

"Your buddy doesn't look so good over there..." Masato said.

"Dammit! Toki..."

Kaii grimaced, looking over to his friend. With the four enemies surrounding him, he couldn't quite get to him to provide his support. Even if he did, he might not have the raw power to make a difference. At least, that was Shintaro's belief.

"You're not looking so well yourself." Shintaro said. "If you concede now, we can spare you more pain."

"I'm not a coward! I'll fight until the end!" Kaii shouted. "Grannus!"

Setting his sights on Masato, he summoned even greater nuclear energy, in the form of a Freila. Akari, however, planned to attack with the power of the mind. Epona, with sorcery, conjured a sphere of phantasmal energy, formed of pink and purple, and it formed a strange sword with a wide blade. Guided by her telekenesis, she slashed Kaii with the Soul Blade.

"How'd you like that?" Akari asked, smiling with pride at her Persona. "Go get him, boys!"

"Okay!" Shintaro cheered. "Masato, it's time!"

"Cool!" Masato said, punching the air with his fist. "Let's tear the sky apart!"

Ogma raised his sword high in the sky, and called forth a foreboding tornado. Camulus did the same with his weapon, sending mighty thunder and lightning into it. The wind now glowed brighter, and accelerated in speed at Kaii – engulfing him before he could get out of the way.

" **Volt Vortex!"**

The tempest passed, dropping Kaii to the ground with a heavy thud. As he struggled to stand, Kei decided to replenish some of her energy. She summoned Ostara, and with the Persona's deep Meditation, spiritual energy came to her.

"You guys aren't getting any more Cognition Cores!" Toki said. Shuten Doji cursed the three enemies with Maeiga, yet it barely seemed to hurt Shigeru. "We won't make the same mistakes as we did in Mizuho."

"Mistakes?" Hiroyuki said. "Because of your comrade's stupidity, at least three people are dead, one of them is on life support, the other is in a coma! That goes beyond mistakes. Persona!"

Masamune appeared, and the katana floating behind him flew into his hand. He grabbed the hilt, and prepared to draw it. There was a brief moment of silence, then there was a massive flash – Masamune had struck with the Raijinken, shocking Toki to his core.

"Well done!" Novalie cheered. "As for me...I refuse to retreat. I don't know why any of us were chosen to wield a Gnosis, but as long as I have this privilege, I won't waste it! Saga! Baleful Brook!"

The Norse goddess emerged, and this time raised her urn high above her head. A strange purple aurora surrounded it, and a geyser of dark water burst out, pouring onto Toki with ominous pressure.

"Guess you're pretty tough after all...shouldn't have underestimated you." Toki said, oddly apologetic for someone the Norwegian girl had just attacked. "Next to these dudes, you sure don't look intimidating."

"Shadows often say that before I turn them into sorbet..." Novalie said, with a sly smile. Hiroyuki shuddered. Apparently, her idea of sorbet was something far more bloody.

"Yeah well, you ain't getting rid of me that easily!" Toki shouted. "Demonic Distortion!"

A trio of jet black spheres appeared, each with a bright blue oni-like face floating within. They started to cackle evilly, causing the area to become misty. It then twisted suddenly, until all three were on the ceiling. Finally, gravity took over again, and they fell upon the spheres of darkness, fully succumbing to their corrupt power.

"Argh!" Hiroyuki shouted.

"Such power..." Novalie said, in awe.

"Dad!" Noburo cried.

"...Stop calling him that!  _I'm_  Dad! Not him!" Toki demanded.

Shigeru immediately got back to his feet, and looked back at Noburo.

"Reia. Netuno. Can't you get him back to the Akartharto Kosmos?" He barked.

"We...can't. It's not letting us." Reia said, distressed.

"Then...I'm sorry. I didn't want you to see me this way...Dis Pater!"

The former Black Condor was once again trapped in a dark dark seal, that exploded violently. Masses of cursed power lingered around, leaving a weary, yet indignant, Toki. He clutched his chest, and looked up at his son, pitifully.

"Noburo...you can't let him do this, right?"

"Don't you  _dare_  start begging him for help!" The amount of hatred between both the boy's actual and step fathers was constantly rising, and witnessing Shigeru's fury was a fearsome sight to behold.

"Damn you!" Toki shouted. "...Are you really going to kill me?"

"Kill? Don't put me on your level." Shigeru said, aiming a punch at his rival's head. He missed, and leapt out of the way of Toki's swords. "I heard about the stuntman's demise! If you hadn't turned up to work drunk, he wouldn't had died so needlessly."

"Junichi-kun..." Toki said, sadly.

"Yes, that's the one. The show you were so proud to be working on nearly was cancelled thanks to your behaviour. I read about it in the paper. Do you ever wonder what happened to his family? His children are still grieving!" Shigeru yelled.

"...There's no way I can put anything right, is there? Not when you're some perfect city councilman, or whatever! With you around, it's like I never existed! I wasn't always..."

"Always what? An alcholic wife-beater who almost got his son killed?" Shigeru said. "What's the use in trying to remember happier times? You've gone too far down your dark path to ever turn back. No wonder you're with Bythos. What other group would want you in their ranks?"

"GO TO HELL!" Toki screamed. Just as he was about to attack, someone came rushing at him. Kaii had broken away from his fight with Kei's team at last.

"What the – get back here!" Kei shouted.

"Let's show this guy not to screw with us!" Kaii said. "Go, Grannus!"

"Alright. Come forth, Shuten Doji!"

A dark sphere of power erupted around Shigeru and the others, and began gathering a blue atomic energy in it. Finally, it glowed a strange dark blue, and was flashing brightly.

" **Daemon Supernova!"**

There was a gigantic burst of energy, sending Shigeru and his allies flying. It was a huge explosion, creating a large crater in the ground. Noburo watched in horror as he saw his father painfully land on the ground, as particles of red, black and blue matter slowly disappeared.

"Shigeru-san!" Kei yelled.

"...I can still fight!" Shigeru said, despite his injuries.

"Really? You can barely stand..." Toki said. "You wanna live? Give me the Cognition Core for Mizuho."

"Like hell!" Shigeru shouted. He attempted to attack, but stumbled. Sighing, the disgraced actor prepared his swords, and stepped forward.

"...No!" Noburo yelled. The Gnosis in his hand, once blue, had changed to a dark black. Kaii, in deep pain, saw this, and gasped – and the others fighting him stopped to look, too.

"Noburo?!" Toki shouted. "Wait?! You're actually -"

"No!" Shigeru said, frightened. "Don't be careless -"

"I won't let him win!" Noburo hollerred. "I've been afraid of him for too long. But that's not who I am at all... **Persona**!"

A gigantic blue force exploded around him, sending Toki flying high – and his swords clanging to the ground. Shigeru got up, and stared in awe. The blue aurora subsided, leaving a being almost purely white.

This new force had a kindly smile, and dazzling white hair in a boyish spiky cut. A light blue headband decorated his head, bearing a handsome face, clean-shaven with sapphire eyes. His outfit was a short-sleeved white and gold tunic, with black smart shoes and matching gloves, and in each hand was a golden long and thin sword, one of which was in a reverse grip. An azure cape was tied around his neck, flapping in the wind created by the awakening.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Aengus, whose swords shall carve poems that inspire a thousand legends!"**

Shintaro couldn't believe it. One minute, he had been a scared boy, cowering behind his step-father. Now, however, he was strong, composed, and determined to protect his new father. Even if that meant striking down his real one.

"Incredible..." Reia said, stunned.

"Another Celtic one? Cool!" Netuno cheered, giving two thumbs-up.

"Nice swords." Masato said, impressed. "They're not just for decoration, though, are they?"

"They're for protecting everyone I hold dear." Noburo said, with vehement anger in his voice. Toki gazed in awe, and yet with deep sorrow. Indeed, his son had awakened to a powerful Persona, but it was not one that would be an ally.

"Son..." Toki said.

"You stay away! I won't let you hurt my dad anymore!" Noburo shouted. "Beannaithe Lann!"*

Aengus, charging up, garnered vast reserves of strength in his arms. Then, his blades becoming rays of light, he span at Toki, and a gigantic light engulfed the whole area.

There was a loud glissando, echoing throughout the theatre, and the dazzling light vanished. Toki was soundly defeated, and Kaii was too weak to even stand.

"...Ugh." Toki said. "I can't...no, I won't..."

"Looks like we're taking you into custody. Whatever comes of you after this, don't ever come near my family ever again."

Before they could get any closer, however, two others appeared – Keiya and Asami.

"What the hell happened here?" Asami said, running to Kaii's aid. "You screwed up  _again_? Why am I having to clean up your mess?"

"I didn't ask you to come here..." Kaii said.

"I think we can classify this as another disaster, directly attributed to yourself." Keiya said, deeply unimpressed. He reached Toki, angry. Just then, three others ran inside – the trio of the Azure Squad.

"Kaii! Toki!" Aritomo shouted. "What's happened?"

"Your superiors were defeated. Those two are the leaders you're meant to aspire to, but they've failed miserably." Keiya said, folding his arms.

Asami sighed, shaking her fists. "Why must we accept everyone who can use a real Persona? These two are pure losers! Without Nisa Liat, they'd be all on their own, powerless to change anything! Let's go. ...Tell Natsumi I'll see her at school."

The Aeon Administrators and Azure Squad vanished, leaving the theatre in silence at last. Noburo gazed at the spot Toki had been, then down at his phone. This smartphone would give him the ability to bring out his true self. He had adopted many roles over his short acting career, and Aengus would be another. He looked up at Shigeru, hesitantly, but the man smiled.

"You did well, my boy..." Shigeru said. "I wish I had told you about all of this sooner. I've been fighting Shadows and Bythos since last December. But I couldn't just tell you and your mother about it."

"I had a feeling something was going on, but..." Noburo said. "You and my senpai from school? You all have this Persona power? It's pretty amazing."

"It's not been an easy road, this." Shigeru said. "The last thing I wanted was for you to get dragged into this. You don't have to fight with us if you don't want to."

Noburo shook his head. "No. I can't just run away from this. Toki had his chance to be my dad, but he ruined it. Now he's going along with that crazy Bythos group. I can't just let him have his way. Especially not when he's fighting my father."

Shigeru stood there, wiping away several tears. "Son...It's been nearly ten years since you first called me your father. Every time you call me 'dad'...it reminds me what's important. How glad I am I met your mother and you. Without that, I probably would have devoted myself to nothing but my career, leading a lonely life..."

_These two really are the real deal, aren't they? I need to tell my own dad I love him more often. He works so hard as a teacher. Maybe everyone else feels the same way about their parents. And then Hiroyuki and his daughter. Wonder if I'll ever have a son? If I do, it won't be for a long time. I've got too many other dreams to chase after first._

"Dad..." Noburo said. "You're the only father I need. Whenever I get flashbacks about him, you're always there. You and mum."

"...Noburo." Shigeru said, softly. "You may not have my blood...but obviously, that doesn't matter to either of us. Right now, I've never been so proud."

"Thanks dad...I love you." Noburo said, wiping away an tear from his eye. "Shintaro-senpai. I'm...going to work hard, so I can be as strong as you. Let's work together for a peaceful world. Okay?"

"...Of course we will." Shintaro said, happily. "Good to have you on board. We'll look out for you."

"You better let your mother and Teruko know that you're safe." Kei said. "...What about you, Akari? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, honestly..." Akari said. "...I just wish I could get Kaii to side with us. But it's not that simple, is it?"

"Life never is." Hiroyuki said. "His dream is so important to him that he's willing to be a lapdog for Bythos to do it. More fool him."

"I feel a little bad for him...but he'll come around someday. People sometimes take a while to realise they've made a huge mistake." Reia said, wisely. "I know. Back when I was in London, I...no, never mind. Another time."

"It's hard having to fight with your friends." Netuno said. "Electric Sea was born because of that. We all had friendships go bad, so we found each other, and made a song about it. Then another. Akari, you want to help Kaii? Leave him be. Let him realise what a fool he's been."

"Okay. Sorry for getting so sad." Akari said. "We should go home, then. It's a pity, I'm never in here..."

"Maybe we could get you all some special tickets for one night of the play?" Noburo asked. "Oh, and Kohaku-senpai too! She seems to like her plays as well. Where is she, anyway?"

"At Aika Makino's concert. It'll probably be over by now." Masato said. "She's with my sister, Natsumi. You'll like her. If you like constant fashion advice, that is."

"Huh..." Noburo said. "I'm going to like spending time with you guys. Tomorrow, I'm going to see Netuno in action. You better put on a good show. Me and Teruko have been looking forward to it for a while!"

"Relax. I'm not gonna disappoint you guys. If I did, Shigeru here would break my guitar in half!" Netuno said, laughing. "He probably could, actually. All his karate lessons have made him one badass old guy."

"...Why must forty-six be old to you?" Shigeru asked, although he couldn't help but laugh as well.

The group left for the Akartharto Kosmos. Shintaro would return home soon, to read another chapter of Leanne Rouge as well as go over the lecture notes he had been given by Kohaku. Soon, he would have to do his best to set an example for the newest member of the time.

**|Sodai Concert Hall|20:00 pm|**

The concert was drawing to a close, and there was just one more song to play. Kohaku had been waiting for this. Indeed, she had left the best until last. As the talented Aika began to play slowly on the piano, the light concentrated into one bright pillar above her head, illuminating only her and the piano. This was none other than the song  _The Land My Mother Promised,_ a hauntingly beautiful melody. The story of the song detailed a young girl and her mother, travelling across a vast distance to reach a promised land of eternal peace.

_I love this song...every time I hear it. It makes me cry. Even right now._

"Wow..." Natsumi said. "This is a beautiful song..."

"Here I am, and here I shall stay...in the land my mother promised." Aika's voice was followed by one last piano solo, and as she played the last key, the lights came back on, she got up from her stool, and the audience cheered. Kohaku practically jumped out of her seat, grabbing Natsumi by the arm.

"WOW! YOU'RE AMAZING, AIKA-SAN!" The brunette screamed, drowned out by the adoring fans.

"Kohaku, you're hurting me...!" The redhead said. Aika took a bow, and walked towards the stage, waving fondly to everyone.

"Thank you all for your wonderful applause. I..." Aika began, wiping away a tear from her eyes. "I worked so hard to bring you this concert tonight. I would never have come this far if it weren't for all of you. May we all share bright years filled with new hope!"

_Bright years, and new hope? Where have I heard that before? Is that one of her last album's tracks? I don't remember. Ah, it's probably some other track._

"Please remember, my album is now for sale. I'll also be helping the wonderful School of Music at the Shinshuto City College! If any of you are students there, I'm looking forward to meeting you again. And my piano tutorials are online, if you want to learn how to play." Aika said, cheerily. "Have a good night, everyone! Remember, no matter where you go, the memories of the forest shall dwell within!"

As she said this, the amber-garbed girl thought Aika was staring directly at her. But it could have been due to the euphoria of the moment. She loved this concert hall, and she loved good music.

Eventually, Natsumi and Kohaku were able to make their way out of the concert hall, and into the busy streets of Tarumi. They had both felt their phones going off in their bags, but had ignored them to avoid disturbing everyone else.

"I can't believe it! Aika was the best she's ever been!" Kohaku raved. "Have you ever been to such a great show? Well?!"

"Easy there, Kohaku-chan." Natsumi said. "It was pretty emotional. I can see why everyone looks up to her in the music industry. It's like she's been performing for decades. Makes you wonder what goes on in her life to make her write such powerful material."

"Maybe it's a little like your clothes designs. Her songs, your drawings, both have pure soul in them. I wish I knew how to make my own songs, rather than just play ones written by other people. I guess what I'm saying is, I wish I could be more like her...and you, Natsumi-chan. I'm so glad you came with me tonight."

Natsumi smiled, red in the face. "Geez...it was nothing. Hopefully you get to see her again. I mean, you saw her once after going to see that weird movie, right? I bet she hangs out in Tarumi all the time. You never know, you could end up playing the flute alongside her piano."

"That'd be...fantastic. If only I had her talent." Kohaku said. "Anyway, we should be -"

Natsumi, having checked her Gnosis, stared at it in shock. "Oh..."

"What's the matter?" Kohaku asked.

"...Looks like we missed out on some major action in the Theio Kosmos."

"Really? What's happened?" Kohaku asked. She looked at her own Gnosis, and saw a message from Shintaro. When she read it, she gasped.

**Had a bit of a crisis in the Theio Kosmos. Noburo got taken there by Kaii, but he's okay now. In fact, we've got a bit of a surprise for you two, but that can wait until school next week. Hope you two had a good night.**

"Man..." Natsumi said, annoyed. "I hate missing out on things like this."

"Well, it can't be helped. We can't expect the enemy to schedule things around us, right?" Kohaku said. "Besides, even without us, they won. I hope Noburo really is okay."

"Oh...your face just went red!" Natsumi said, playfully. "Didn't know you were into the underclassmen, Kohaku-chan..."

"Hey!" Kohaku said, embarrassed. "He's...handsome, okay? That's all! I don't even know him that well! And Teruko would kill me if I even went near him!"

"Then obviously, you need to wear protective gear to school. I can find some that still looks pretty nice." Natsumi suggested. The girls laughed, and walked off. Little did they know that they'd both get to know Noburo Komatsu rather well, and very soon.

 


	21. Another Severed Bond

**|Pleroma|**

_Huh?_

Kohaku had been fast asleep, having listened to a bizarre rock band she discovered through social media. Yet now she was back in front of Sakura Dormitory, as it had been that day she came to visit Kei. Even wearing the same clothes. Was this a dream? It felt awfully lucid for it to be one.

She didn't even seem to be in control of her actions, walking as if on a predestined path. On that day in Asakita, she had been in control. Yet now she was completely unable to move of her own accord.

The dorm door opened, but instead of Kei was someone else. A girl of the same height, but much longer hair and pink eyes. Her clothes were entirely different from Kei's as well, with a purple tank top, a short-sleeved red jacket, blue jeans, and purple sneakers.

" _Oh, good to see you, Kohaku-chan. I wasn't expecting to see you here today."_  The girl said, smiling.

" _Hi! I wanted to surprise you. That, and I wanted to check out this dorm. It looks really nice. What's it like on the inside?"_  Kohaku asked. Or at least, those were the words that came out of her mouth. What was going on? Why was this girl in Kei's place? Try as she might, she couldn't break free from this dream.

" _I love it. My room is actually really nice, it even has a TV! And the people here are so kind, too. It's so pretty, they decorate the halls with so many flowers..."_

Strange, that wasn't quite what Kei replied with. She had joked about it being a secret lab of some kind, not this. What  _was_  this?

" _I bet. Look at all the blossom trees around this building. No wonder they call it Sakura_." Kohaku said.

" _I'm so glad I chose to say here. It's a pity it's not closer to Kansei High, though. Since you're here, would you mind if I gave you a tour of Asakita?"_ The girl said, with a bright and cheery smile.

" _Show me around? I thought you were the exchange student, not me!"_ Kohaku replied.

" _I've been enjoying wandering Asakita in my spare time. It'll be like when you and I are fighting Shadows together, and I take the lead. I wouldn't try and call Airmid though, or we might get some odd looks!"_

And so, Kohaku and this strange girl wandered around the familiar Asakita ward, ending up at the Olympus Rollercoaster just as before. It was still a scary sight, yet this whole atmosphere was giving her chills.

_"Um..."_  Kohaku said, staring up at the huge structure.  _"...Are you sure you've done this before?"_

_"Yes, I was with one of the other girls at the dorm. We were just fine, but they do provide bags in case you feel unwell."_  The strange girl said, tenderly. She was indeed saying similar things to Kei, but had a different vibe to her. A kind, almost sisterly one.

_"Well, you only live once..."_  Kohaku said. The two of them took their seat in the ride, but others were getting, so they had a few moments until it set off. During this time, Kohaku tried her best to break free from this sequence, and just ask this girl who she was, and why she was in her dream.

_"Are you really that scared?"_  The girl asked.  _"If it were Reia, she'd no doubt run up this ride and back down."_

_"...I'm not as strong as her."_  Kohaku said.  _"All I am is a girl who gets good grades and loves music. I never even thought about doing anything to protect this city."_

_"I don't actually think any of us expected to be doing anything so drastic."_  The ebony-hair girl said.  _"But you'll never run away from your duty, will you? After all, you're still with us."_

_"Yeah, of course I am. And I always will be."_ Kohaku said.  _"But...I just don't want to be weak. Like I was when I fought Toki. That kind of power he possessed...I want to reach it. No, I want to exceed it!"_

_"That's great, Kohaku. That's all you need to start with."_  The young lady said.  _"As with everything, it all begins with one's own choice. If you really want to become stronger, as a healer or a fighter, then you just need to work towards it, with each and every step."_

_"How did you become so wise -"_

It was just then that everything finally changed. The entire world outside of the rollercoaster froze, aside from Kei and the strange girl, who stood up, with had a sad expression on her face.

"...What's the matter? Miss, who are you?" Kohaku asked, finally breaking free of the script.

This very question seemed to upset the girl, as suddenly, the environment completely vanished, leaving a bizarre void of purple mist, as well as floating blue human-like gaseous bodies. Kohaku watched them float by, and the sight of them made her shiver with fear.

"It's taking too long...even with the others' help." The girl suddenly said. She offered no explanation as to who these others were. Her clothes completely changed, to a black, red and orange ensemble.

"I know that voice. You're Nisa Liat, aren't you?!" Kohaku shouted. "How the hell are you inside my dream?"

"STOP ASKING ME SO MANY DAMN QUESTIONS! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Nisa Liat screamed, aggravated. "Whatever I do, it's still not enough! How long do I have to keep doing this?"

"H-Hey...!" Kohaku said, flustered. "Whoever you are, don't get mad at me. But why am I dreaming about the day I went to Asakita with -"

"Enough, Kohaku-chan." The now angry Nisa Liat said. A huge figure appeared behind her, one that seemed completely black and mostly misty, yet with trails of red blood flowing over her 'body'. Kohaku shuddered at the sight, and yet found it oddly similar to something else she had seen, not so long ago. "Clearly, I still have a long way to go. We'll meet again soon, okay? I promise. One day, we'll look back on this and laugh."

"Wait! What are you trying to do?" Kohaku asked one last time. Nisa sighed, and looked away. With it, she vanished, as did the figure behind her. The environment went white, but before she woke up, Kohaku heard Liat's voice.

_"The day this will all be over will be soon. I'll make sure of it."_

**|April 24th|Chieki Academy – Class 2-4|15:10 pm|**

It was time for another Mathematics class with Shiro Koyanagi, the school's least popular teacher, very much the opposite of Suzuki of Kansei. While he certainly knew his subject in and out, his attitude towards students was pure condescension. Every word had an air of superiority to it. Masato hated him with a passion, and his sister was no exception. Today, he was going over a rather complicated algebra lesson, but Masato was dwelling on other things, gazing idly at his notepad.

_Man...all this stuff with Noburo and his two dads is crazy. The guy seems so determined, but he's fighting his own flesh and blood! I don't think I could do that if it was my dad. Or any of my family. Course, my dad sure isn't a fighter. Mom has him wrapped around his little finger. But I just wonder, what else is Bythos going to do? And are we ever going to meet Nisa Liat, face to face?_

"Are you getting this down? You all still have some time before the first exams of the school year, so you should put that time to memorising these lessons. Remember, last year we had lower scores than Kansei on average. If that happens again, then it will be you disgracing the academy. Let's see...you! Masato, slacking off as usual? Look up here when I'm talking to you!"

The redhead gulped, and stared at his teacher in the face, gulping. A man in his forties, with light brown short hair with bangs, he had many nicknames, none of which were remotely affectionate. One of which, playing off his surname, was 'The Willowing Warpath', as he always seemed on the prowl – to find students failing to meet his standards, and single them out as mediocre dunces.

"This equation on the board. What's the answer?" Koyanagi demanded. "Well, are you going to keep quiet until the bell rings? Or are you just going to daydream about being Japan's best baseball player?"

_Yeah, well I don't need your bullshit. Course, if I say that to you, I might get expelled, and my mom will kill me. C'mon, lemme think -_

He suddenly saw Natsumi, out of the corner of his eye, write a number down. She actually did excel at this subject, possibly to help her measurements for creating clothes, and often tried to support her brother as much as she should. As quickly as he could, he stood up, and answered.

"Is the answer sixty five?"

Koyanagi frowned, but wrote the number on the chalkboard regardless. "...Correct. Perhaps baseball isn't the only thing you store in your brain. With this equation, you have to be very careful with the square factor. ...Is something funny, Hamasaki?"

"No, sir..." Asami said, but despite her denial, she had an amused smirk. She had been quiet, much to her fan's concern, and some of which had been having lengthy discussions on her official forum about her possibly suffering depression. If they knew about her ties with Bythos, Masato wondered if her fans would turn on her.

The class finally ended, much to the twin's relief, and the school day was over. Koyanagi was about to leave the classroom, when Asami suddenly approached him. She had been struggling with this subject last year, and didn't seem to be faring too well this year – but to ask him to help had never ended in anything except failure.

"Whoa, she's brave. Normally when I ask him to explain something, he chews me out and tells me to go over the textbook again." Eiji said, yawning. "Anyway, I'm heading out. See ya."

Eiji left the classroom. As the twins left, however, they felt harsh stares from Asami. Clearly, now that the truth was out – to them, anyway – there was no love between them.

**|Chieki Academy - Courtyard|15:35 pm|**

The fiery-haired twins left the school, and walked close to the fountain. There, they saw one of their senpai in his school gym clothes, a green tracksuit but with the jacket unzipped. Upon seeing him doing stretches, Natsumi blushed.

"Ah ha! If it isn't Koyanagi-sensei's least favourite student!" Masato said, giggling to himself, as they got closer. The older boy, or Toshiaki Yukimora, looked up and laughed, sweeping a hand through his short, spiky, slicked back silver hair. Even though he was in the year above them, he was known for treating everybody as equals.

"Yeah, for now, but when I finish school, it's gonna be you who inherits that title. You better honour my legacy." Toshiaki said, laughing, giving his underclass-man a strong high five. "How're things going with the baseball team, Masato my man? All good?"

"Awesome. We're gonna crush Kansei into the dust this year." Masato said, cracking his knuckles.

"The same dust I'm gonna leave them in?" Toshiaki said, laughing. "I dunno, their track team's main star is one hell of a speed demon. Sure, Katashi Yamaguchi might be a complete dick to everybody, but he's not to be underestimated. Don't worry, though, I ain't going down without a fight."

"Oh, there you are, Toshiaki. Are you bothering those poor twins again with your toys?"

Walking up to Toshiaki was another third-year, Evelina Solberg - a foreigner who was known around Chieki for being both beautiful yet unattainable. Her deep blonde hair, long, curled and draped over her shoulder, highlighted her fair face, especially her light brown eyes and slight nose. While Masato and Natsumi didn't speak to her often, they knew she was originally from Gothenburg.

"Oh, c'mon, Evelina!" Toshiaki said, playfully, as the Swedish blonde prodded him. "This after I spend all night fixing that laptop of yours? Where's the love?"

While Toshiaki was known for his athletic performance, he had a semi-secret hobby of tinkering with machines of any kind, where they be home appliances, computers, or other electronics. He had helped out with many small repair jobs at both school and home, and had lots of random projects going on at one time, some of which had turned out well, others...disastrously.

"Well, it hasn't exploded yet, and the language didn't change to Esperanato, so it's a worthy repair job. I might even pay you this time." Evelina said, smirking. She, like Toshiaki, had an affinity for technology, but was more into the software side of things. The two of them, ever since meeting in their first year at Chieki, been inseparable – like a more vitriolic version of Kohaku and Shintaro.

"You still owe me for the last three computers I fixed up for you." Toshiaki said. "Lemme guess. Willowing Warpath giving you more shit?"

"Yeah..." Masato said, grumbling. "How do you deal with it?"

"I just try to avoid him outside of classes. Thank god he's never involved with any of the sports teams. He's all bark and no bite anyway. If he was actually interesting to listen to, I might pay attention to his classes, rather than just letting Evelina get the lecture notes for me."

"Consider that my payment for the laptop fix, then." Evelina said, laughing. "Anyway, I better get to the student council room. Try not to make the other boys in the track team jealous."

"I can't make that promise. I'm too good for my own...good." Toshiaki said, amused. The two went their separate ways, leaving the twins.

"He's so cute..." Natsumi said, watching the athletic engineer run off.

Masato grinned. "So  _this_  is my sister's type, huh?"

"Oh, back off. It's not just me. Every girl at school fancies him." Natsumi said, blushing. "But he's always with her. If only I was good at the stuff he was into..."

"Sis, please don't turn into a 'senpai notice me' archetype, that's going to be horrible to watch." Masato said.

"Don't be such a jerk!" Natsumi said, glaring at him. She stepped lightly on his foot, something she had done many times whenever he got on her nerves. "I'm not going out of my way for him like everybody else! I've got class! Although after near year, he won't be at Chieki..."

"Yeah. We'll become the senpai the first and second years want to notice them. Scary." Masato said.

Just then, they saw someone else staring at them. In a Chieki uniform, rather than the usual one she had been seen wearing. It was Fumika, of Bythos. But when she saw the twins had noticed her, she practically leapt with fright, and ran through the school gates.

"Hmm. Maybe I'm already there." Masato said, amused. "Anyway, time for us to held to Ginumi. I'm looking forward to seeing what Noburo is like in battle."

"Same. I hope he's feeling better after what happened on Saturday." Natsumi said. "Anyway, here we go!"

**|Grand Laguna Hotel|16:11 pm|**

One by one, everyone in the team had assembled. Having been brought up to speed by Shintaro, Kohaku wasn't fazed to see Noburo, the last to arrive.

"Hi, everybody." Noburo said. "Um..."

"It's okay, son. These are our comrades. You can trust them completely." Shigeru said, arm around his boy.

"Yeah!" Akari said. "Our group keeps getting bigger, doesn't it?"

"Indeed." Kei said. "Initially, it was just me, Shintaro and Kohaku. Then we found Masato, made contact with Shigeru's team, Natsumi joined us, then Akari, and now we have Noburo. Although we still haven't met one of your team. What's the matter with them?"

"Well..." Shigeru said, trying to find a way to phrase it. "There's an issue with her power that we've still to overcome..."

"She's not good at using her Persona." Reia said, flatly. "It's not that she can't summon one. But it doesn't manifest properly at times. It might have something to do with her personality."

"A Persona failing to appear?" Kei asked. "That's never happened with us before."

"Indeed. The fact that she's the only one of us to have experienced this problem has no doubt caused her further anxiety." Hiroyuki said, frowning. "We'll have to find some way to address the problem."

"Eh, we'll get there. The times she can summon her Persona properly, she's a powerhouse." Netuno said. "Oh yeah, Noburo, saw you and your girl at the gig. She seemed to be really into it."

"Yeah, she was...excited. Bit of an understatement, I know. I didn't expect her to do that thing with the sodas, though." He didn't go into further detail, leaving Shintaro to ponder just what a girl like Teruko could do with the sodas.

"Here you go. I've made you all coffee and carrot cake." Novalie said, serving the youngest members first. "Perhaps I should teach you and your sister a few recipes, Masato. We'll turn you in a house husband yet."

"He'll need someone desperate enough to marry him first." Natsumi said, sticking her tongue out. Her brother pouted, but eat the cake anyway.

"Tonight, let's have a social gathering. No fighting Shadows. I want you to feel right at home, son." Shigeru said. "Only without your mother's miso soup." Both he and his son shuddered at the thought.

"What's wrong with miso soup?" Akari asked. "My mother makes amazing ones!"

"Get her to teach my mother how to do them, then. That way our weekends won't test our gag reflexes..." Noburo almost gagged at the thought, and the group chuckled.

The rest of the evening continued on enjoyably well. Kohaku and Noburo spent most of the night discussing their favourite music, and later, he and Shintaro got into a lengthy debate over some rather controversial film adaptations of his favourite books. The team were finally starting to come together, the bookworm thought. The young actor was in good spirits, whose charm seemed to have the girls hanging onto his every word.

Yet soon enough, Shintaro had another event to look forward to, and he told the others in great detail. The Golden Dragon had been booked for this Sunday, for just him and Celestine Courtois. She insisted she would cover the bill. Hopefully, he could pass as slightly older. Otherwise, he might end up embarrassing himself, as well as the French novelist.

"Hmm. Are you sure there aren't any romantic connotations to this, Nakahara?" Hiroyuki asked, somewhat playfully. "It's okay to admit you're smitten with her. But to be invited to such an expensive venue for your first meeting with her is..."

"Yes..." Novalie said, anxious. "It's quite a romantic hotspot – according to my travel guide, that is. Don't give me that look. We're only looking out for you."

"I...I know I can trust Celestine." Shintaro said, indignant. "She and I have a connection. Not just my grandfather's book. It's our way of thinking, the way we want to communicate our ideas to the world. In fact, she might have inspired me to become a writer myself."

"That's awesome, dude. Hey, you could practice by writing song lyrics for me." Netuno said.

"And thus, the moment you asked someone in high school to write your songs, you reached the apex of your career." Reia said sardonically.

"Man, I wish I could just take Teruko there one night..." Noburo said, envious. "Whatever happens, senpai, you better not leave us hanging. I want all the details."

"Relax. I'll be writing a full review of the food for all of you to see."

Noburo just stared flatly at him, in disbelief. "No, doofus, the food isn't important. It's the company I want to hear about. If you've never been the romantic type before, then maybe it's time to start! Even if she is a little older..."

"Okay, I think it's time I take this boy home!" Shigeru said, walking over abruptly. "Thanks for coming tonight, everyone. We've got a hard fight ahead of us, I know. But Nisa Liat doesn't scare me. Not one bit."

"Nisa..." Kohaku said, anxious.

"What's the matter?" Kei asked. "You look awfully pale. Do you need some fresh air?"

"It's...nothing." Kohaku looked out of the window, her eyes on the road below. "Nisa Liat, whoever she is...I wish she'd just go away."

"You and me both, Haku-chan." Shintaro said, nodding, as he stood right by her. The others were staring to leave, and before long, it was just the two of them.

"Shintaro, I..." Kohaku began. "I had a dream last night. About her. Nisa Liat. I saw her...her voice was just like in the voice calls we've had with her."

"You saw her?!" Shintaro asked, amazed. "What...did she look like? Tell me everything."

And so, she told him the full story. An alternate version of the day she went to Asakita, only for Nisa Liat to be in the dorm instead of Kei. When she told him this, Shintaro felt a shiver down his spine. It was just like his own dream. Where the transfer student had been a black haired girl. A girl who had a dress similar to the one in his friend's dream.

"...It's just like me." Shintaro said. "I had a dream of our first day of school this year. But it wasn't Kei. It was her..."

"I don't know what this means, Taro-kun. Is my dream really just a dream? It sounds so much like yours. Too much. Something's not right at all." Kohaku said.

"I think so too." Shintaro said. "Is Nisa Liat simply toying with us?"

"No. I'm sure It's more than that." Kohaku said. "It's scaring me. Both our dreams have her replace Kei. What is that meant to mean? Is she wanting to get rid of Kei and be our friend?"

"It's a bit of a crazy plan. Create an anti-establishment group, gather a group of followers, and wage war with us, just so she can be a transfer student from Yokohama?" Shintaro asked.

"I know it doesn't make sense..." Kohaku said. "But what  _is_  she trying to do with these dreams? And why?"

There was an uneasy silence. For now, the truth behind these dreams was eluding the two. They would simply have to wait and see what became of these premonitions. Somewhere in this city, in either Kosmos, their nemesis was planning her next move. And her cadre of nine associates were at her every beck and call.

**|April 28th|Hiyashi - Golden Dragon|17:59 pm|**

Finally, the night had come. Shintaro arrived, dressed in his best white shirt and black tie, and had purchased a new pair of shoes for the occasion. With any luck, he could pass as a rather youthful adult. His heart was pounding, his pulse racing. Even if this wasn't exactly a date, he was feeling the pressure. Impressing a smart woman like Celestine would be a challenge, one he was afraid he might fail. Yet he must try regardless.

"Wow. It's even better up close!"

The outside of the restaurant was grand, if ostentatious. Gold dragon statues were at either side of the main doors, breathing fire. The menu, consisting of many pages and exquisite dishes, was there for all to see. Looking in from the window, he saw the place embodied a minimalist, yet sophisticated dining experienced, adorned with tasteful deep red and a touch of gold.

As he was about to venture in, he saw a trio of women in traditional Chinese dresses, or cheongsam. They bowed to him, their hair tied neatly into buns with hair decorations matching their dresses – the oldest had red, the youngest had blue, and the one in the middle had green.

"Good evening, sir. Might you be Shintaro Nakahara?" The senior of the girls, in her mid-late twenties, said. According to her name tag, she was called Lihua.

"That's correct. I hope I'm not late." Shintaro said, adjusting his tie.

"Not at all, sir. Welcome to the Golden Dragon! We've been expecting you. Please, let us show you the way." The youngest girl Huiling, perhaps eighteen, said.

And so Shintaro followed the girls up the carpeted stairs, onto the grand second floor, consisting of the private rooms. Thoughout the place, he heard soothing traditional Chinese music, that was a delight on the ears. He saw a few aquariums boasting colourful fish, and some exquisite pieces of artwork, most striking of all, a grand painting of the sacred dragon Kohryu, or in Chinese, Huang Long.

"This is amazing..." Shintaro said. The girls nodded in appreciation, and they opened the door to the one that faced the front of the building. Standing by her table was Celestine, as glamorous as ever.

"Madam Courtois, your companion for this evening has arrived." The other girl, Xifeng, said.

"Wow! You look beautiful!" He said, instantly. She laughed, as the light from the red lanterns shone on her short red designer dress, with one of the thin black stripes lightly loose, and a fetching ribbon around the waist. Her high heels elevated her above Shintaro even more, and her face was clad in a small amount of makeup – yet it made her ever the more bewitching.

"Why thank you! You look quite handsome yourself. Like a proper gentleman. I'm sorry if I'm a bit overdressed." Celestine said. "Yet for a place like this, I must look the part. I hope the Zhao family are treating you nicely?"

"Very nicely!" Shintaro said, smiling at the three sisters. They stood there in a dignified manner, their hands clasped together in front. Immediately, they pulled out chairs for the pair to sit on, and poured glasses of water. There were complimentary prawn crackers on the table, and they looked far more delectable than any the avid reader had seen before. The two of them couldn't help but begin to devour them, dipping them in the sauces that Huiling had provided.

"So..." Celestine began. "Tell me about school, Shintaro. I want to know more about what it's like to be a student in Japan. Researching it online or in books is simple enough, but I want to hear it in your own words."

"Well, I love studying. I know that sounds a little silly, but it's true. I'm someone who learns for the sake of learning. There's so many things you can learn in just one day." Shintaro began.

And so, while they were treated to a feast of amazing starter dishes, the favourite of Shintaro's being the spare ribs in sauce as well as the prawn toasts, he discussed his school. Yet she seemed to want to know everything – the subjects, the teachers, and even the layout of Kansei. Spurred on, he kept talking, while they waited for their main dishes to arrive.

"And our Principal, she's been at the school for about thirty-four years. But she's still sharper than most of the teachers. When she gets mad, that's when you should run for the hills. Thankfully, though, she's always nice to me and Kohaku." Shintaro continued, as Lihua took away his plate.

"I see. So that's the kind of place that cultivates minds such as yours." Celestine said, drinking her glass of red wine. "Only sixteen, but you're so much wiser than men twice your age..."

"I wouldn't go that far. I've never experienced life outside of being a schoolboy." Shintaro said. "What if I can't handle life in the real world?"

"Shintaro, don't be silly. You're far more capable than you think." Celestine said, reaching across, her hand touching his. His face went red, and his heartbeat went a little faster. "It's true that it takes more than academics to make a life successful. But you have far more to you than just reading books and absorbing knowledge. Talent burns within you – trust me, I know."

"You're very kind, Celestine. Or do you prefer Courtois-san?"

"I think Celestine would be just fine." She said, with a sly wink. "This city has already given me more inspiration than I ever thought possible. What about your friends at school?"

"Well, I don't have that many. But there's Kohaku. I've mentioned her a few times already, but she's my best friend in the whole world." Shintaro said. He hadn't quite said it so strongly before, but he meant it. His honesty seemed to be appealing to the novelist, who leaned in closer.

"Is she...?" Celestine said, curious. "You keep talking about her so fondly, but have you never wanted to be more than friends? Oh... Forgive me, I shouldn't pry in such things."

"Don't apologise. You're not the first one to ask that." Shintaro said. "Ever since we met in elementary school, we've never really wanted to be anything more than friends. Maybe it's because we don't have siblings. At the end of the day, I know I can trust her."

"That's nice. True friendship is hard to come by. You should treasure it for as long as you can." Celestine said. Before long, their middle course arrived, consisting of a half roast duck to be served up on thin pancakes, accompanied by spring rolls, cucumbers, and various sauces, all laid out in uniform fashion. The waitresses were flawless, and Shintaro never had to ask them to do anything – they seemed to know what he wanted, whether it was an additional napkin or a refill of his ginger beer.

"How often have you been here, Celestine?" Shintaro asked, as he prepared one of his pancakes. The duck was succulent, and not as fatty as he had seen it in inferior eateries.

"At least once a month. Truth is, I owe the family that runs this restaurant. Their daughters run this place like clockwork. No job is too much for them." Celestine said.

"You owe them?" Shintaro asked.

"Yes. They're my dearest friends, to be honest. It's why I come here so much." Celestine said. "It's a long story. Let's just say I had a terrible time getting published. Rejection letters one after the other, barely personalized at all. There are only so many books a publisher can release at a time, and they picked the ones they thought would sell. I didn't want to compromise my ideals. The story you're reading is the one I penned. I won't let it be censored or cut to shreds for the sake of sales."

"Good for you." Shintaro said. "My grandfather was the same way. He wouldn't listen to anybody who wanted to change his story. Silver's Pain might not have many copies left in existence, but in a way, I'm glad. At least the people who matter got to read it."

"Integrity is important." Celestine said. "I'm so glad I got accepted by Omega Letter Publishing. Even if..."

"Even if...what?" Shintaro asked.

"There were some rather...vicious reviews for my first novel." Celestine lamented. "I couldn't believe it. They weren't impartial at all. They were scathing attacks, not just on the book, but me personally! One of them even called me a 'unimaginative would-be harlot, fantasising herself as a hero who actually has a life of her own, when she can only live vicariously through this drivel'. Give me nightmares for a week."

"That's horrible." Shintaro said. "I've never seen any reviews like that for your more recent books, though. What was going on with those first ones?"

"Oh..." Celestine said. "Let's just say a horrid little man had it in for me. Pure sleaze, coalesced into a man that somehow wormed his way into a publishing firm. He had no class, no charm, and when I turned him down, he wanted to ruin me professionally. Paid writers to make up such negative reviews and hurt my book sales. But with a little help, I got to take him down and make it all go away. Now, if I get a bad review, it's at least honest, and I can bear it."

_I've never heard of anything like that. Someone who hated Celestine so much, he made people pen such disgusting reviews. How could he do that?! If he was still up to his old tricks, I'd show him a thing or two._

"You don't have to look so angry. It's over now." Celestine said, amused. "I can handle myself. Well, with a little help from my friends at the Golden Dragon, of course. They've never had to show their true strength, but if they ever needed to kick someone out, believe me, they're more than capable."

"Wow. I better be extra nice to them!" Shintaro said. The night went on, and they continued to eat and drink. Talk soon turned to Leanne Rouge, and it was as if he had never been in the Theio Kosmos. His kidnapping felt like a distant memory. Yet somewhere in the city, Toki and Kaii still lurked. What were they doing?

**|Chieki Academy – Courtyard|16:40 pm|**

Natsumi had finished with her sewing club, having started work on a yukata for the summer festival. Even though it was still a while away, she wanted to have one ready in time, and look the part. As she left the school, there were still a few students around. One of which was Fumika, who was talking to Asami. Making sure they couldn't see her, she went behind them, listening in.

"It's okay, Fumika. Don't belittle yourself like that. It's not that easy to summon a real Persona." Asami said, gently.

"So you keep saying, but...there's so many people out there that can do it. There's you, the rest of the admins, the Princess...and then our enemies." Fumika said, sadly. "I want to be more useful to everyone. It doesn't seem to bother Aritomo-kun and Konomi-chan, but -"

"Don't worry so much. We appreciate your efforts. At least, I'm sure Toki and Kaii do." Asami said. "I've been thinking. The whole time I've known them, I've been treating them like dirt. Especially Kaii. The guy just wants to make us proud, and he tries so hard. He's...just not very good at seeing the bigger picture."

Fumika nodded, laughing a little. "Asami, about what happened to Hisaya and the others - how do you feel? I've been afraid to ask the Princess about it."

"...Well, not great." Asami said. "I really never wanted to kill anyone, I swear. I just wanted that bastard to understand a little." Tears fell from her eyes, and Fumika shared a look of sorrow with her. "My best friends are gone. Nothing I do will ever change that. The pain doesn't go away, no matter how many counselling sessions your mother forces you to take. I wanted Ryosuke to understand what that was like. Now he's gone, he had an easy escape. But I'm still here, grieving."

"I'm sorry, Asami-san." Fumika sad, sorrowfully. "I know this sounds a little mean, but do you really have to avoid Natsumi so much? You never meant for her to get hurt, did you?"

"Of course not!" Asami said, strongly. "She was a really good friend to me. I thought I'd sail through Chieki alone, but then she came along. Now I've lost her, and sooner or later, I'll have to face her head on."

"Your Kaihime is really strong. I'm sure you can win!" Fumika said.

"But I don't want to have to fight her!" Asami shouted. "Having to face her in battle would be too cruel"

"Then join us."

The two girls turned around. Fumika screamed a little, but Asami held her hand tightly.

"How long have you been eavesdropping?!" Asami shouted, on her feet.

"Long enough." Natsumi said. "I'll be going. But just understand that I don't want to fight anymore than you. At the same time, I could never join Bythos. So if you really don't wanna fight, you know what you have to do."

She left the two girls in silence, and as she did, tears streamed down the red-head's cheeks. Fighting her former best friend could be avoided...right? What if she was forced to attack Asami? If she hesitated, it could endanger the others. She broke into a run, desperate to get home.

**|Mizuho – Kita Crossing|17:13 pm|**

It had been a rewarding day with the baseball team at school, and before he headed home, Masato went into town and went shopping at Umeda. Upon leaving, with a copious amount of health foods – including some curious flavours of smoothies – he caught a glimpse of the ruined Kaleidoscope, still closed.

_Hiroyuki said that Hisaya's still in a coma. It's weird. Did the EX-NIHILO hurt her that much? I just hope it doesn't go after Fumika and the others. They seem like good guys, even if they are following the wrong people. No, what I really hope is that it never comes back to life. But there's no telling what will happen._

"Having a rare moment of reflection?"

The baseball fanboy leapt in fright. Standing there, in a less formal outfit consisting of a blue shirt and black trousers, was Keiya. He had let his hair down, revealing an almost feminine cut that reached below his shoulders. Perhaps he used some kind of shampoo or conditioner to get it that shiny.

"You..." Masato grimaced. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Obviously, I'm shopping around for something to destroy you and your allies once and for all. Perhaps these pre-made salads are the key." Keiya said. "...Or I could just be purchasing ingredients for dinner."

"Tch." The boy looked back at Kaleidoscope, and sighed. "You won't be so lucky next time. Your cards don't scare me."

"A bully like you clearly has no fear. The cards themselves may not be the threat, rather what's inside them. You'll understand when the time comes." Keiya said.

"Boring! Cryptic bullshit all you're good for, is it?" Masato asked. "Get out of my face. I'm sure you've got some stupid rabid fangirls waiting to see your tricks."

Keiya glared harshly at the boy, and had he not been surrounded by passersby, he probably would have subjected Masato to Sin. Yet, he had to compose himself in public. "I never intended to be a mere magician by profession. But fate conspired against me, and I failed to fight back. Never again. Let me ask you something, now that we're off the clock. What is it that compels you to work alongside Shigeru, the Mayor's lapdog?"

"I..." Masato said. "Why should I tell you?"

"I'm curious. You stubbornly cling to the notion that your mayor is just, and aid Komatsu blindly." Keiya said, grimly. "If your Mayor is so just, why did she turn a blind eye to the suffering of Kazuko Onishi?"

Masato blinked. "...Who's she?"

"Ah, my apologies. You know baseball players of every era, but those in the acting profession, not so much." Keiya said, full of condescension. His face turned dark, and he looked away. "Kazuko was the greatest stage actress Japan will never know. Her time cut short. All the work she poured into her role in that damned play will never pay off. All because of that cockroach."

"So the city council is to blame?" Masato asked. "You serious?"

"I'm always serious, you simpleton. Your newest friend no doubt finds it a privilege to be in  _Death By Moonlight._  Long ago, I would have thought the same. But to be in the same cast as Yuchi Okamoto...if Noburo only knew."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Masato demanded.

"I'm going home now. Do some research. They tried to cover up the truth...but I'll make sure the world knows exactly what happened to Kazuko-chan."

He stormed off, and turned around the corner. As he did, Masato sneered at him, even though plenty of awestruck girls stared at him.

_So he really did use to be involved in acting. Who is this Yuchi fellow? And what happened to Kazuko? I'll have to ask Noburo about this. Keiya could do something to ruin his debut on the stage..._

**|Hiyashi – Seishin-Tsubasa Shrine|18:12 pm|**

Noburo, having looked at some of the film stores out of interest, was about to head to the bus stop to make his way back home. However, something caught his eye.

"Kaii...?"

Indeed, it was the Aeon Admin. Dressed in a black coat, he was heading towards the iconic Seishin-Tsubada Shrine, built on top of a small hill in the middle of Hiyashi, surrounded by flowers and trees. Not long after, a familiar man joined him. Toki. Angered, the young actor followed, careful not to be seen. When he managed to get behind a tree of the surrounding park, he listened in as carefully as he could. Maybe he could get valuable intel for the others. Or satisfy his curiosity.

"Why'd you want to meet me here?" Toki asked.

"Well..." Kaii said. "I've never been here before. I didn't want to miss out before I say goodbye to this place."

"G-Goodbye?" Toki exclaimed. "What are you saying?!"

"...I'm leaving Shinshuto. I've already bought my ticket out of here." Kaii said, eyes to the ground. "There's...really nothing here for me. Being in Bythos seemed like a whole new door had opened, but it's done nothing but made me a laughing stock. And I'm no closer to my goal than when I started."

"But...it doesn't have to be this way, boy!" Toki shouted, grabbing Kaii by the wrist. "C'mon. You gonna give up that easily? I know the other admins talk shit about you a lot. But c'mon, sticks and stones, right? Be a man!"

"I wish I could be..." Kaii said, tearfully. "But I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore. I've got to go and leave this city behind. You're the only friend here I have left. The only one I really can say goodbye to. The only one that will miss me."

"Wait a second." Toki said, seriously. "You're really just going to pack your bags and leave this city? And give up on everything you've been fighting for?"

"Bags?" Kaii laughed, albeit sadly. "I don't have a lot of things to take with me. Just some clothes. But the important things I'll be taking with me are up here." He pointed to his forehead, and Toki blinked in confusion. "You don't get it? My memories, old man."

"Old...man..." Toki said, uneasy.

"Don't get pissed. You're not that bad for forty-eight, you know. Maybe get a haircut and shave a bit more, and you can shave off at least six years." Kaii said, grinning. "Look. Don't get upset. I'll keep in touch. You've been looking out for me, for some damn reason, so it's the least I can do."

"But...I don't want you to go!" Toki pleaded. "Stay here, with me..."

"I'm sorry, man, but this is something I've gotta do. I can't just hang around here, even with all the great places to walk a dog." Kaii said, sadly. "Coming here didn't give me any answers. Maybe I was never meant to know, and I just have to live with it. Either way, I'm starting all over again in a new place -"

"Kaii. The answers you're looking for." Toki began, seriously. He took Kaii by the shoulders, and gazed deep in his eyes. "...Don't you see it yet?"

"See what? You're starting to scare me."

_What's going on? What's all this about 'answers'?_

Toki, with a deep sigh, tried to think of the right words. Finally, he began.

"Reiko was my first love."

Noburo blinked, confused. He hadn't been spotted yet, thankfully. Who was 'Reiko'? And why was it so important his father had a relationship before Kaiyo?

"What?! But you said you didn't -"

"Me and her were really close. The moment I saw her, I knew I was in love." Toki continued. "It was before I moved to Tokyo and got cast in Featherman. I was doing some bit parts at Chiho, and she was doing office work there. Before we knew it, we were seeing each other every single day. We moved in together, and it felt like we were going to be in love forever."

"...So what happened?" Kaii asked, uneasy.

"Work offers dried for a while. I felt pretty hopeless, and I hit the bottle pretty hard. Me and Reiko kept fighting, then we'd make up, only to get into another argument. I just couldn't stop. Then one night, she tells me she has something important to talk to me about. I...thought she just wanted to break up with me, this time for good. I was drunk out of my mind, but I remember...throwing a bottle of wine at the wall, barely missing her. The next day, she was gone. She didn't even leave a note. And we never saw each other again." Toki said.

"When...was that?" Kaii asked, anxious.

"Twenty years ago." Toki said, his voice trembling. "Don't you get it? The man you've been searching for...I'm right here, in front of you!"

There was a long moment of silence. All Noburo could hear was birds flying overhead, and the hustle and bustle of the streets below the many steps. It took a moment for the boy to register just what he had heard.

_This can't be happening?! Kaii can't be my brother. He just can't! What the hell is going on?!_

"How long have you known...?"

Toki, now quiet, let go of Kaii, who was now on the verge of tears.

"Tell me! When did you know I was your son?!" Kaii demanded. "Was it that night in Tarumi?! And you never told me until now?!"

"I...I couldn't find the right words." Toki said. "It was bad enough Noburo having me as a deadbeat dad. I didn't want you to -"

" _Godammit_!" Kaii shouted. "If you had just stayed sober for one fucking evening, maybe mom would have stayed with you! We could have been a proper family! I wouldn't have been wondering about what kind of man you were for all these years, maybe I'd have made something of myself!"

"I know. I'm really sorry..." Toki moved closer, but Kaii stepped back, shaking his head. "Please. Don't leave Shinshuto. I never even knew I had another son. We can start over, just you and me!"

"Just the two of us? Really?" Kaii said, letting out an anguished laugh. "So you're forget all about little bro Noburo and be a dad to me instead? Sorry, but no. I don't want to be a substitute."

"That's not what I meant at all!" Toki yelled. "Listen here, Kaii. Do you think I would have abandoned you if I'd known Reiko was pregnant?!"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Kaii snapped. "It's funny...I used to feel bad whenever you put yourself down. But now I see exactly what you mean. You  _are_  a useless bastard! You turned both of your lovers away, and both of your sons  _hate_  you!"

"You don't mean that -"

"The hell I don't! Toki, you can go straight to hell where you belong!" Kaii screamed, loud enough to make Noburo leap with fright.

"Please..." Toki said, his face wet with tears. He walked closer, only to be knocked onto the stone path. Kaii's fists were full of rage, and he wasn't about to be talked out of it.

"I'm leaving this city, whether you like it or not. I don't have any reason to come back." Kaii said, adamantly. "Goodbye, Toki. And goodbye to you too, Noburo."

The boy panicked, watching the older boy – or rather, his older brother – walk off into the distance. He looked around, and saw Toki just laying there, watching pitifully, as his eldest son abandoned him.

"...Go home, kid." Toki finally said, as he got to his feet. He walked straight past the young actor, and began to descent the steps.

"Aren't you...going after him?" Noburo asked, hesitantly.

"You heard what he said." Toki said. "Both of my boys hate me...there's no point upsetting him anymore. He deserves a fresh start somewhere far away from me."

And with that, Toki departed as well, leaving an empty shrine and a conflicted son.

_So Kaii really is my older brother. I thought he looked a little like me, but I didn't think anything of it. Should I tell the others? If Kaii is leaving town, then I'll probably never see him again. The brother I never even knew I had. What the hell do I do?_

He stood there, watching the world go by. For the first time in many years, he felt something other than hatred for his father. A feeling of pity.


	22. The Curtain of Blood Falls

**|April 28|Kansei High School – After School|16:40 pm|**

Noburo had been rather distracted during classes, and some of his teachers had picked up on it. It was difficult to concentrate on lectures with the memory of yesterday in his heart plaguing him every five minutes. An Aeon Admin was leaving Shinshuto City, which if he had just been Kaii, the dorky guy that Akari had once admired, then that wouldn't have been so bad. One less enemy to worry about.

Yet this was his older brother. And never seeing him again didn't seem like something he could just shrug off. None of this classes could shake off his sadness. He went to the drama club which included Teruko, Akari's friend Suzu, and a polite auburn-haired girl called Minae Saito. However, even that didn't manage to cheer him up, no matter how much he devoted himself to the script they had chosen.

"That's about all the time we have. I must say, you're rather distracted, Noburo-san..." Minae said, as the group packed up their things, preparing to head home.

"Seriously. You're usually all over this." Teruko said, annoyed. "You're even more depressed than you were when we watched  _Victory Gundam_  together. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing...I'll be on the stage for real soon, and it's a lot of pressure."

"You're not normally overcome with stage fright," Minae said, clasping her hands together. "Perhaps you need to try some mental exercises to calm your nerves. I have a book at home about it. You can borrow it anytime. You too, Teruko-chan."

The club members dispersed - Teruko had to help her family out at home again, but as she left, Noburo saw Kei walking out of the school gates, talking to a rather unkempt beauty that was part of the Kendo club – Haia Oshiro, in the second grade like Kei. While her long brown hair was wild and untamed, she had a fiery passion for her sport. It was even rumoured she had broken hundreds of bokken and shinai during her rigorous training. Often seen with Minae, they were strong friends despite being polar opposites.

"It's hard to keep up with you, Haia-san." Kei said.

"I know. But it's nice to find someone in Kendo club that doesn't end up crying when they spar with me. You're way more badass than those dweebs in your class." Haia said. Noburo couldn't help but notice two small plasters on her face – did Chieki have anyone who could face her skill with the sword? Perhaps, if Kei continued to participate in club meetings, she would master the blade and incorporate it in combat.

"I'm more resilient than I look," Kei said, sweeping a hand through her turquoise hair. She had a habit of doing this, Noburo had noticed, even if he had spent little time with her at this point. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Haia."

Haia left with a confident swagger, no doubt to pester Minae, so Noburo waved over to Kei. She came over, and seeing his face, seemed worried.

"What's wrong?" Kei asked, kindly. "Is it about Toki?"

"You're brave...everyone else trails off, afraid to say his name in front of me," Noburo said, shaking his head. "But yes. It's about him – and Kaii."

"It can't be easy to deal with, opposing your father – even if someone else you call a dad is fighting alongside you," Kei said, sadly. "Being torn like this must be horrible – if it were me, I don't know what I'd do either."

"Kei..." Noburo said. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. I know I should be lucky both of them are still around. But what he put us through is -"

"I know. If you never forgave him, no one should judge you for it." Kei said, clutching her forearm with her hand. "Shigeru's loathing for him is because he loves you and your mother. All he knows is Toki as a monster – and so do you."

"...I just wish I could remember something good about him. But I was so young back when he tried to take me in that damn car." Noburo said. "And he's with Bythos now, anyway. It's probably too late to reconnect."

"It's up to the two of you," Kei said, kindly. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, or what they've been through. But I'll stand by you, no matter what happens."

"Thanks, Kei." Noburo said, smiling a little. "Thing is, yesterday, I heard him and Kaii chatting. What they said, I think everyone needs to know."

"Then should we meet up tonight in the Theio Kosmos and discuss it?" Kei asked.

"Actually, I was thinking Bella Donna, at the food court," Noburo said. "I'm not sure I want to bring it up in front of dad. Shigeru, that is. And I'd rather wait until everyone's together."

"Okay. Then leave it to me. I'll see if I can get everyone there tomorrow." Kei said, smiling. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"No..." Noburo said. "You got any plans? Teruko's busy tonight..."

"None yet. But there was a movie I felt like seeing, and you seemed like the best person to invite. Just don't tell Teruko you went with me." Kei said, grinning.

"Deal." Noburo said. "C'mon, let's go!"

**|April 29th|Bella Donna – Food Court|14:00 pm|**

The Kansei students, featuring the Chieki twins, had gathered here as quickly as they could, summoned by Kei. At the food court, a fateful place where three members of the group discovered their Persona abilities, the team had elected for burgers of various kinds. Shintaro kept referring to them as steamed hams, much to Kohaku's amusement.

"Okay, can we stop quoting that episode now? I'm aware it's an Albany expression." Natsumi said, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry. But I'm just looking forward to these cajun fries!" Shintaro said.

"Heck yeah! You got good taste, Shintaro-kun." Masato said, excitedly. "But we didn't just come here to eat, did we? Kei sounded serious when she asked the two of us here."

"Yeah. Noburo, is something wrong? Ever since we got here, you've been looking really sad." Natsumi asked compassionately.

The young thespian nodded, anxious, drumming his fingers on the table. "Everyone...I wanted to tell you all something. I didn't really want to say it in front of Shigeru, not yet. It's about Toki and Kaii."

"Kaii?" Akari asked, surprised. "What happened? Is...he okay?"

"He's not injured or anything, but...no, he isn't." Noburo looked at everyone, seriously. "I overheard the two of them talking in Hiyashi. The thing is, Kaii's real father...is Toki."

There was a stunned silence, as the group exchanged shocked looks. Shintaro had to process this several times. The two Aeon Admins were related? He had to admit, Kaii did resemble Noburo somewhat, but he hadn't expected this.

"Oh my god!" Akari said, finally breaking the silence. "Then Kaii is your -"

"Big brother. I figured that out for myself." Noburo said, staring off in the distance. Thus, he told them the story he had heard from his father – about his first love, Reiko Murayama, leaving him to protect herself and her unborn son. If she had refused to reveal anything about his father to Kaii, then perhaps that was her own means of protecting him – however misguided.

"That's so sad..." Kohaku said, wiping her eyes. "I take it Kaii didn't react well?"

Noburo nodded. "Bingo. Kaii's punches are pretty brutal, especially when you're not expecting them. Toki ended up on the ground, and Kaii stormed off. He's...leaving Shinshuto. So we might never see him again."

"What?!" Akari said. "But..."

"You didn't still think you'd be friends with him, did you?" Kohaku asked.

"Not exactly, but...he's really never coming back to this city?" Akari said, stunned. "That's such a shame...you and him are brothers, but you'll never get to know him properly."

"...Yeah." Noburo said, sadly. "And when Kaii left, Toki just looked so...defeated. Like, every bit of bluster was knocked out of him. And I...I felt bad for him."

"I can't say I feel sorry for him. Not after what he put me through." Shintaro said, glancing at Kohaku. "And when I got captured, it put you through hell. That's not something I can just forgive, no matter how pitiable he may be."

Noburo nodded. "He's done some awful things, I don't think even he'd deny that at this point. But...after Kaii abandoned him, and the things I said to him...what if he puts him over the edge?"

"...You shouldn't have to feel guilty about that." Akari said. "Toki's responsible for his own actions. You aren't his keeper."

"I know...I'm just confused." Noburo said. "I thought I hated him more than anything. But I can't bring myself to hate him so much anymore."

"Being a Persona user means being true to your own feelings." Kei said. "You must realise, Noburo, what your feelings for Toki are. It's natural to hate him for what he did in the past, but part of you still  _loves_  him in some way, right?"

"What? Don't be stupid. Who could love a man like that?" Shintaro asked, annoyed.

"Reiko and Kaiyo both did once." Kei said, with a harsh look in her eyes. "And...the bond between a parent and a child is harder to sever than you think. I've never stopped thinking about mine..."

The group was silent. Shintaro had never even heard her talk about her parents before, but he had seen her get somewhat tense whenever the others brought up theirs. He had a dark feeling this wasn't just homesickness...

"...Maybe you're right, Kei." Noburo said. "It's not hate I feel right now. It's...sadness. I don't want Kaii to just up and vanish. Now that I have an older brother, I can't just let him go. Akari, doesn't Kaii live near you?"

"Y-yes, but..." Akari said. "He hasn't been nearby lately. I've not seen him or little Yukio – that's his dog - out and about."

"Then..." Noburo said, sulking. "...Dammit. I don't know what to do."

"If you see him, tell him how you feel. That goes for both of them." Shintaro said. "They're still family, no matter what. Right? Isn't that how you're feeling right now?"

"I guess so. ...Thanks for listening, guys. I'm glad I could talk to you all about it." Noburo said.

"Anytime." Kohaku said. "Besides, it makes a change from Shintaro gushing over the 'elegant and refined mademoiselle Courtois.'."

"Or you praising the 'wonderful and majestic Makino-san'." Shintaro countered, jokingly.

"Ah, so the date turned out well? Nice!" Masato said, grinning.

"What kind of clothes did she wear? She's always dressed so immaculately in all her press photographs!" Natsumi said, more enthused than ever.

And thus, with the arrival of the food, the conversation turned to Shintaro's 'date' – not that he agreed with that word – with Celestine. It was indeed a wonderful time, but he felt a little awkward about a possible romance between him and her being the talk of his friends. Yet at the same time, he couldn't help but admire her beauty, and especially her sharp wit. Would a relationship with her be so bad?

_Keep it together, Shintaro. She might not even see you that way. There's no point getting my hopes up._

"Oh yeah, Noburo. You ever heard of a Kazuko Onishi?" Masato asked. "...Keiya mentioned her when I was shopping. She was an actress, right?"

"Keiya?!" Shintaro exclaimed. "Why didn't you bring this up before?"

"We got talking about Noburo, then you and Celestine, so...sorry, man. Relax, Keiya didn't try anything. He just said some cryptic stuff about this Kazuko lady and Yuchi Okamoto."

"Yuchi's in the cast of the play. He's one of the leads, like me. But Kazuko..." Noburo began, sadly. "He was incredible, or so the reviews of her performances say. But before she really became big, she ended up becoming a recluse...and then she died."

"Died?" Kei asked. "...Suicide?"

"That's what the police said," Noburo said. "It's horrible, but...I didn't think she and Yuchi were linked."

"Maybe we ought to ask Keiya for more details." Masato said. "He didn't seem to like Yuchi much. 'Cockroach', he called him."

"Yuchi is a bit argumentative during rehearsals. But he's a great actor. He knows how to bring out the best – or worst – of himself for any role." Noburo, upon saying this, started to wonder. "I wonder, was he really involved with Kazuko? I was still young when she died..."

"Maybe we ought to research this..." Kei suggested.

The group continued eating. With the card magician's words hanging in his mind, however, Shintaro couldn't quite relax. If Keiya held a grudge against Yuchi, for whatever reason...perhaps the esteemed actor would suffer a true  _Death By Moonlight_.

**|May 1st|Kansei High School - Class 2-1|15:02 pm|**

It was the last lesson of the day, and much to Akari's delight, it was Hideki's class. Even now that she was friends with his younger siblings, it didn't stop her crushing on her teacher – not by a long shot. Shintaro and Kohaku, of course, were more engrossed in the subject at hand, which was about Ireland.

"So as we were saying, Dublin is the capital city of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. There's something beautiful about Irish geography and it's culture. Even to this day, I can't help but tap my feet to the sound of a Jig. Or  _B*witched._ "

Shintaro couldn't help but laugh. Hideki could always be counted on to be the life and soul of a party. Masato related some interesting stories about his engagement party, which involved him having to be rescued from the roof and somewhat uniquely customised fireworks.

"This area's been inhabited since prehistoric times, and it's been Ireland's capital for a long time. Here's a question for...how about you, Kakusa? When did Dublin celebrate it's 'official' millennium?"

"1988." Kei said, immediately. Hideki nodded, impressed, and the other students seemed to share his delight.

"That's right. The city was recognised as settled in 988 AD. Although it was at one point a Viking territory until the Norman invasion from Wales was launched in 1169. But that's more History than Geography. Getting back on topic, the River Liffey divides Dublin into the Northside and the Southside. Each of these is divided further by two lesser rivers..."

The lesson finally concluded, and it actually made Shintaro consider visiting Dublin at some point. Perhaps it would help him learn more about Ogma, his Persona. Granted, he had certainly researched the being his Persona was named after – a deity connected with learning and language – but going to Ogma's home country might prove even more insightful.

As they left the school gates, they saw Noburo and Teruko, the latter seemed rather irate. Kohaku rolled her eyes, but Kei seemed worried. Shintaro, probably the one the jealous girlfriend disliked the least, decided to approach carefully, to try and hear what was going on.

"I  _know_  you were with them, Noburo! Don't even hide it! Why are you spending so much time with those girls?!"

"A-Alright, we had lunch! But it wasn't like it was just me and the girls! Shintaro was there, and so was Masato!"

"Who the hell is that?" Teruko asked, arms crossed. "Oh, whatever! You've been really secretive recently, and I hate it! You used to tell me everything! Just tell me! And what is with that  _weird_  new phone, anyway? It's creeping me out!"

"I...It's just a backup in case someone goes wrong with my main one!" Noburo said, stammering.

"Yeah right!" Teruko shouted, hands on her hips. "Noburo...I'm going to ask you this only once. If I find out you're lying, I'll never forgive you! Are you seeing anyone else?!"

"No." Noburo said, serious. She looked down at her feet, shaking her fists.

"Then what is it? Why are you suddenly friends with our senpai? And what really happened when you went missing? Why can't you tell me...?!" Teruko said, on the verge of tears. "Please, just trust me...it's nothing to do with Bythos, is it?"

"I'm not  _with_  them, if that's what you mean!" Noburo said. "It's...too complicated to explain. I can't tell you just yet..."

"Fine! Then you don't have to! Just stay out of my way!" Teruko said. She slapped him across the face, and ran off, crying loud enough for the school to hear.

"Wow, what'd you do to get her that mad?" Hidetoshi, a member of Kansei's baseball team, said, amused. "Can't she just let you breathe near another girl?"

"Shut up! Don't make fun of her, you dickhead!" Noburo said, rather tearful himself. He turned right, and saw his bookish senior. "Oh...you saw all that, didn't you?"

"Noburo, buddy, I'm sorry..." Shintaro said, sadly.

"...I didn't want to lose her." Noburo said, wiping his eyes. "I...I haven't lost her, right? Teruko-chan..."

"She's really special to you, huh?" Kohaku asked.

"It's...because of her that I was able to go up for so many roles. Always encouraging me when I felt like giving in." Noburo said. "Dammit! First Kaii runs away, now Teruko..."

Just then, Kei's Gnosis rang. Concerned, she answered it.

"Natsumi-chan? What's wrong?" Kei asked.

"Kei, it's Asami. She's been acting really weird lately. She overheard us talking about that brand new Space Museum, the huge one in Asakita, and she got all shifty – more than usual. Bythos might be trying to get the Cognition Core there!"

"Then we need to beat them to it." Kei said. "Where is Asami now?"

"She's not at school anymore. Me and Masato checked, but no sign of her or that Fumika girl from the Azure Squad. If she's at the Museum, she's probably with Keiya..." Natsumi said, anxious. "Should we meet at Asakita?"

"Yes. Let's try to get there as soon as possible." Kei said. "See you two soon."

"That doesn't sound good." Kohaku said. "We've been so focused on Toki and Kaii, I'd forgotten about the other Aeons..."

"Noburo, do you want to -"

"I'm going." Noburo said, still depressed. "Teruko she's afraid of Bythos. That nurse that they manipulated into killing the Chief of Police and herself - she was a family friend. I've got to do something to stop that fucked up cult from killing anyone else I care about. So...please, take me with you!"

"Alright. Then if we're all in agreement, let's go." Shintaro said. The gang made their way to Ginumi, silent on the bus trip, preparing for what could be a decisive battle.

**|Asakita – Great Beyond Space Museum|16:21 pm|**

The Great Beyond Space Museum, a huge white dome building with navy glass windows and many floodlights around the perimeter, was a newly constructed tourist attraction of Asakita. Children were impatiently queuing for tickets, while those leaving the building were admiring the expensive space-related toys they had begged their parents to buy for them.

"Don't be daft with that telescope, Lorraine." A Scottish tourist said to her daughter, who seemed to be about seven. The girl cheerily skipped towards the car park, and waved to the high school students approaching.

"We're sure getting a lot of international visitors these days, aren't we?" Shintaro said, trying to make conversation.

"Yes." Kei said, flatly. "Lots..."

"Hey, there you are!" Masato said, running up with Natsumi. "We've been looking out for Asami and the card freak, but nothing. Not even the Azure Squad are here."

"But we found the QR code by this weird constellation glass monument thing. Here." Natsumi said, sending the code to everyone's devices. "By the way, did something happen?"

"Me and Teruko had a fight...she kept trying to find out what we're doing. But I can't just confess that I'm fighting Shadows in actual battles. She'd freak out. Maybe she's demand she was fighting by my side. Or beg me never to go into battle again."

"You don't want either, right?" Masato asked.

"That's right. You wouldn't want your Dorothy getting hurt like us, right? But I can't stop. Not while Toki's with scum like Bythos." Noburo said, adamantly. He clenched his fists, and looked up at the grand museum.

"Scum..." Natsumi said, anxiously. "Asami...was joining them really worth it?"

"If she's in there, you can ask her yourself." Masato said, hand on her shoulder.

The team soon warped to the Theio Kosmos, and thus the people vanished. Outside, the Museum looked as normal. Venturing forward, Shintaro prepared to fight, whatever lay in store.

**|Theio Kosmos – Great Beyond Space Museum|16:07 pm|**

The Space Museum was known for its truly staggering scale and design – the entrance room's domed ceiling had a detailed star map of the Milky Way, that illuminated soothing light onto the blue flooring. The area that would normally contain the gift shop, selling gimmicky novelties vaguely related to the stars, was emanating an ethereal blue glow. The rest of the museum was blocked off by a strange teal forcefield – leaving the shop the only place to go to.

"It's amazing...ly tacky." Natsumi said, frowning and sticking her tongue out. "Blech."

"What are you talking about, sis? This is so cool!" Masato said, pointing to the ceiling above him. "Look, that star there is our Sun! And over there in the gift shop are Shadows - wait what?!"

The group gasped, as hurtling forward came two Shadows. One was a strange manta-ray creature that had a human body merged with it, Forneus. The other was a starfish-like being called Decarabia.

" **There's a lot of people here today, buddy...and they're all really weird-lookin'."** Decarabia said – despite not having a visible mouth.

" **I'll say. First that loud girl and that guy with the ugly cape! Now all of these kids."** Forneus said, flapping its fins.

"So Asami and Keiya  _are_ here!" Masato said. "Get out of the way or we'll turn you into a demonic seafood buffet!"

"Sounds like Suzu's birthday party last year." Akari said, shuddering.

" **No way! You're not laying a finger on my best pal!"** Decarabia proclaimed valiantly, preparing itself to attack.

" **What he said. I can't lose! I'm a Great Marquis of Hell!"** Forneus said, offering no vow to protect his own friend. Regardless, the two Shadows charged at their foes – each of them preparing their weapons.

**|Shigeru's Car|16:15 pm|**

Shigeru, having finished work for the day early, was driving down a busy road. Yoko Ashikaga's car had broken down earlier, so he had offered her a ride home. Quiet, she spent most of the journey staring out of the window, barely taking in her surroundings.

"It's a lovely evening. If only there was less traffic." Shigeru said, turning around a corner. Yoko nodded, not even looking at him. Then, she finally turned to him, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Shigeru." Yoko said. "Are you okay with your son being one of your group?"

"...No." Shigeru said. "But it's not like we can turn away potential members. Besides, he's a spirited boy. He takes after me."

"I see." Yoko said. "I just hope he survives this crisis. If he were to end up like Noriko, I'd..."

"Don't say that." Shigeru said, tightly gripping his steering wheel. "I'll protect Noburo with my life. Not just him. All of those kids. They're our nation's future, after all."

"...I hope you can." Yoko said. "She'd have been eighteen this year. I wonder what school she would have been in?"

Shigeru didn't respond, and kept driving. Yet as he did, a million thoughts came to mind. The dreadful day three years ago, when a tragic event shattered Yoko forever.

The day Noriko Ashikaga was murdered on her way home from school.

_The man that did it got the death penalty. I hope he burns in hell for what he did. Yoko was a single mother, sure, but she did her best. Noriko was such a cheerful, lovely girl...just like her mother. Now that she's gone, Yoko can only think of being Mayor. A shell without a core. What can I do?_

"You still have to deal with Toki, too," Yoko said. "Don't worry so much. There's no way your son will ever take his side over yours. No one I know is as devoted a father as you are."

"Thank you, Yoko." Shigeru said. "Trust me. I'll put a stop to all of Bythos. For everyone...including you."

"Stop, huh? I wonder if my life will ever 'start' again." Yoko said, eyeing straight ahead. "Maybe if I can...no, not yet."

**|Great Beyond Space Museum - Lobby|16:25 pm|**

The two Shadows, fighting with perfect synergy, were proving tougher to take down than Shintaro expected. Yet, they were on the verge of victory now. Noburo leaped away from the Aques that Forneus cast and ducked under Decarabia's spinning body.

"Wow, nice!" Natsumi cheered.

"An athlete and an actor. He's incredible!" Akari said.

"I'm just getting started!" Noburo jumped on top of a banister, and called down Aengus. "Shimmering Spire!"

The Persona, using his powers, sent Noburo soaring into the air on a column of white light. This blessed power was absorbed into his swords, and the lad dived down, piercing through Forneus' body.

" **Argh! Decarabia, you said you would protect me! Some buddy you turned out to be! Have a nice death, you freaky fish!"**

The manta ray-like creature vanished into thin air. Anxious, Decarabia quickly flew to Kei, trying to hit her with all five of its limbs. Yet, her kendo classes had taught her some intriguing sword moves. With Sarutahiko's latent strength, she was able to slice apart the devilish starfish, leaving nothing but dust.

"Not much of a seafood platter, was it?" Kei said, grinning.

"How'd you pull that off?" Natsumi asked.

"I'm not sure, really, but going to Kendo club has made me more confident using this sword. In fact, it lets me combine it with Persona energy to do more complicated attacks. Course, it drains my stamina fast if I use it too much..." Kei said, making her trusty sword vanish.

The forcefield was gone, allowing access to the rest of the museum. The rest of this place had more traps in store, Shintaro suspected. But they would continue to advance, and face whatever challenges were waiting for them.

**|Great Beyond Space Museum – Stellar Station|16:43 pm|**

After wading through some glitzy exhibits, full of Shadows, the group reached a part of the museum that was underground – a short cable-car ride that went through a nebula, with dramatic voice-overs explaining the finer details. There was still no sign of Keiya or Asami, but Shintaro had a feeling this lurid pink contraption would lead them closer.

"...What, do we get in?" Kohaku asked. Akari had already taken her seat, and Noburo had decided to sit next to her. Masato and Natsumi took the car behind them, and Shintaro went in the front one. Sighing, Kohaku took the seat next to him, and so did Kei. The ride was silent, however, they felt a strange chill, and every sound seemed to echo for miles.

"This is really authentic..." Kei said. "It's like we're actually in -"

The ride suddenly hurtled forward – rather than go through a simple circuit, it kept racing ahead, doing loops through the stars, passing elaborate meteor showers.

"-outer space!"

The group screamed with Kei, Shintaro clinging to the safety bar as tightly as he could – as he gazed in terror at this lurid journey. Eventually, however, the ride suddenly stopped at a giant golden platform. Floating to the size was a giant silver craft of some kind, a somewhat cheesy looking blue spaceship with laser guns and rocket launchers. In the regular museum, this was a fun interactive game, but here, it didn't seem quite so virtual.

"...This wasn't in the pamphlet they gave out last time I was here." Kohaku said, groggy, as she stepped out on the platform. It almost did seem like they were in outer space, above the planet Earth. A small comet rushed past, making Shintaro leap with fright.

"This is crazy. The Theio Kosmos shouldn't be this bizarre...should it?" Akari asked. "...At least there's actual air to breathe. Phew."

With nowhere else to go on this coin-shaped platform, the team boarded the spaceship, and Natsumi took the front seat with the controls. She had been here before, and enjoyed the game immensely. On the main screen displaying the space in front of her, in neon green letters it had a 'score'.

"Welcome to  **Galaxy Vanguard**. Please enter your name, my hero, and save the planet Earth from the Drake Destroyers!"

Natsumi complied with the female digitised voice, typing in her name, combined with a pink love heart. Masato groaned but didn't say anything further.

"Commencing take off. Destination – the Moon. Destroy all enemies you encounter, my hero! Watch out for your shields!"

Natsumi nodded, grabbing the joysticks. The spaceship flew up, and shot forward, racing through the stars. Before long, however, a myriad of menacing spacecraft appeared, firing lasers of their own.

"No way! Eat this!" Natsumi cheered. The entire space shook as lasers struck it, but the volley of beams fired caused it to vibrate even more. All Shintaro could see from outside was countless explosions – and the destruction lead to a notification on his phone, advising him of new materials obtained. Materials that could help the shopkeepers develop new wares.

_So playing this game can give us even more power - more reason to come back here, I guess._

Halfway through the course, after destroying a fleet of red ships that were three times the speed of the white ones, as well as a fiery meteor shower, they came across a gigantic space battleship, with a gigantic laser. It began charging, and launched its lesser weapons in the meantime. A green button flashed, and Natsumi pressed it.

"Now charging  **Ultima Laser**. Currently at 12%."

"Hang on, everybody! I'm gonna get us all through this!" Natsumi said, grinning wickedly. She shot down the smaller ships the 'Near Zero' was launching, as well as reflecting the missiles with the pink energy shields she produced. Finally, the green button flashed again, and a huge laser cannon protruded from beneath the spaceship.

"Hell yes! Time for the super ultra mega death laser of doom!" Natsumi cheered. She fired her laser, just at the same time the enemy fired theirs. Both beams collided, creating a huge flash of light, as both aimed to surpass the other and completely ruin the target. Finally, however, Natsumi's ray pushed back the other and struck the core of the enemy unit – causing it to explode with violent energy, its burning wreckage drifting off into space.

The enemies weren't done yet, however. More advanced ships appeared, firing their best weapons, and draining Natsumi's 'Vanguard 001' to low health. The spacecraft had really taken a beating, and with all the shaking, Shintaro was struggling to stay on his feet. The fiery-haired pilot, however, was taking it in her stride.

"Not done yet...just one big enemy before the moon!"

The 'enemy' was a gigantic robotic monstrosity, something out of a mecha anime with a dragon-like head. It fired a plasma breath of purple flames, and its 'wings' seemed to be firing an endless supply of rockets. Akari and Kohaku were busy casting their Dia spells to keep the spaceship afloat, but the 'Dragoon Dystopia' wasn't letting up at all.

"Dammit...it's taking too long to charge the main weapon!" Natsumi yelled. However, a purple button flashed instead – which she pressed immediately. Two purple 'whips' of electricity flashed from the sides of the spaceship, latching onto the Dystopia, and catching its small arms – rapidly absorbing its electricity, and trapping it in place.

"Wow..." Masato said.

"Yes!" Natsumi banged the green button, and this time, the main laser pierced right through the fearsome dragon mecha. All that was left were smoldering metal wings, the rest of it burning up into junk. A red engine piece was left floating, and it was immediately absorbed into the Vanguard 001 – giving it a triple speed boost. It hurried towards its destination, the Moon...

**|Museum – Lunar Exhibit|17:21 pm|**

As they disembarked their vehicle, Shintaro saw the lunar surface in perfect detail. This may not be the actual Earth satellite, but it was an extremely close simulation. The craters all around him, the twinkling stars in the sky, and the brilliant blue Earth in full view. They could barely make out Japan from this point.

"I can't believe it! We're on the moon!" Noburo said, still shaky from their battle in the outer space. "And we can breathe here!"

"I know!" Kohaku said, exhilarated. "This is the best time I've had in the Theio Kosmos, by far!"

"Is this a bad time to crack a joke about there not being any atmosphere?" Akari asked.

"Yes." Kei said, dryly. "But there really isn't anything here, is there?"

"Look." Shintaro said, pointing ahead. There actually was a path to follow, that seemed to go on for miles. "I wonder how many steps that'll get on my fitness tracker."

"Oh wow, you got one of those too?" Masato asked, immediately checking the blue gadget on Shintaro's wrist. He compared it to his own, which was a red version. "Awesome!"

"You're more impressed with that than our flight through space?!" Kohaku asked, in disbelief. "You two haven't changed, it seems."

"I can sense people nearby..." Akari said, anxious. "They're not allies, either."

"Does Epona really give you psychic powers?" Noburo ask.

"Sort of. But it's hard to control it still. It's like, I just  _know_  things when I'm in the Theio Kosmos. Right now, there are two human beings up ahead, in some kind of dome-like structure."

"Then we better hurry up and find this thing. I hope they're not up to no good..."

The group progressed, and more Shadows tried to impede their progress. However, the Persona users were largely able to eliminate them. Kohaku, in particular, was much more confident with her naginata than before. This may have been because she had recently acquired a new one with the power of Earth in the blade itself.

Finally, the group reached a small metal dome building, with a retro-futuristic satellite dish attached to the top. The doors slid open, as they approached, revealing a room with many hi-tech computer systems and other complex machinery.

"This is in the real museum as well, right?" Shintaro asked.

"Yeah. Obviously, it's not really on the moon, but they do really well in making it feel like you are. This is even better, though. Or worse, depending on how you look at it."

"It's like 1969 all over again. Except I don't think anyone then had a Persona, somehow." Kohaku said, smirking.

The group entered a glass elevator, and it shot up to the top of this dome...

**|Great Beyond Space Museum - Lunar Base – Command Center|17:44 pm|**

Standing in front of the huge window overlooking the moon where none other than the two Aeon Admins the group had been pursuing. No sign of Toki or Kaii, thankfully, but Asami and Keiya were not to be underestimated. Shintaro gulped as he saw them, but they weren't even remotely scared.

"Oh..." Keiya said, disdainfully. "The moon is at least habitable by vermin. That's something I didn't know."

"Natsumi-chan, why are you here?!" Asami demanded. "You...overheard me at school, didn't you?"

"You got that right!" Natsumi said, pointing sharply at her former friend. "If you're trying to get Asakita under your thumb, think again! This area belongs to everybody, not just Bythos!"

"Yeah! So get the hell out of here!" Masato said, annoyed.

"Tch." Keiya said. "We already have a Cognition Core for this building. Albeit, it isn't powerful enough to control the entire Asakita Ward. Even so, with the technology present here, we can at least expose a certain cockroach for what he is. Especially since he's visiting this Museum today with a friend."

"What...?" Noburo asked.

"Let me show you..." Keiya said. He used his Gnosis to turn the 'window' into a monitor, and it started playing a rather hazy image. Shintaro gasped – there was a young woman, with a beautiful face, her hair tied up, but she was extremely distressed. Not only that, her face was red, and she was clutching her cheek painfully.

" _I-I'm sorry! Please, I'll do anything! Just don't...please!"_

There was an angry sigh, and Shintaro flinched. He saw a hand rise up in a clenched fist, and the young woman cowered, crying.

" _You better not make me look bad out there again. Isn't life so much easier when you just do as I say? Being my girl is good for your career, isn't it...? Stop trying to break free so much. It's not good for you. Now, come on, put on your happy face, get out of that stupid white dress, and try to be sexy."_

"Yuchi?!" Noburo gasped.

"Yes...Yuchi Okamoto. One of the most celebrated actors of our city. He's good at acting, anyway. Pretending he's generous, caring, nurturing, and actually giving a damn about anybody but himself."

"How were you involved with him? And Kazuko Onishi, too?" Kohaku asked.

"Simple. I knew Kazuko since she was in high school. We were both determined to become actors. Before I knew it, she was cast as Sayaka in  _Death By Moonlight_. Alas, I failed the audition. Guess who beat me to the role? Yuchi. To everyone he meets, he's a charming actor. But his acting talent comes from nothing but sheer sociopathy. He quickly charmed Kazuko, hiding his true character for as long as he could..."

"...She couldn't just leave him?" Kohaku asked.

"No." Keiya said. "She lacked the courage...and he had a way with women. Making them depend on him for success. Reeling them in, not allowing them to surpass him. Those he mentored had to stay on his level, or even better, beneath him. He still hankers after international fame and glory, but he's never managed it. Those who have a chance...he ruins."

"Then, is it thanks to him that Kazuko...well..." Noburo said, sadly.

Keiya nodded. "With the Theio Kosmos...I was able to see how it happened. One evening, Yuchi's rage got too far. He didn't like her spending any time with me at all...and he especially didn't like our plans to run away from Shinshuto forever."

The video changed to a hotel room, one that Shintaro thought was the Gold Laguna from Ginumi. Standing on the balcony, overlooking the neon-lit cityscape, was Kazuko, in a black dress.

" _You little tramp! How could you love him?!"_ Yuchi bellowed. "He's nobody. What's he ever been in? Just a couple of plays written by talentless hacks. With him, what are you going to do when your career dries up? My star is rising, while he's just a lonely loser who depends on you."

" _Shut up!"_ Kazuko shouted, annoyed.  _"I don't care about acting in this city anymore. I've made up my mind. I want to be with Keiya-kun. He never hits me! He never tells me I'm worthless without him! And once I tell everyone about what kind of man you are, it'll be your career that dies!"_

" _Oh...like anyone will take your word over mine!"_  Yuchi chuckled. Kazuko started to march forward, but he grabbed her powerfully by the wrist.

" _Let me go! It's over between us!"_  Kazuko begged.

" _Oh, what, are you waiting for that skinny Tsukino to save you? He's too spineless...too soft to make a difference in this life. Not like me. I'll do whatever I can. Being a little ruthless is a small price to pay..."_

The altercation got even worse – the anguished actress, as determined as she was, lacked the strength to overcome her oppressor. The two were on the balcony, her trying to run out of the room, but his hand was over her mouth, preventing her from screaming for help.

" _Dammit!"_ Yuchi shouted.  _"Fine then. You wanna get away from me so much? So be it...but you'll be away from everyone else, too!"_

With a mighty shove, he pushed her over the railing, onto the cold stone pavement. Before long, there were screams from passers-by, and a multitude of people yelling for help.

" _...Break a leg, you whiny bitch!"_

Reacting swiftly, Yuchi seemed to run out of the hotel room, and out of sight...

"He managed to avoid being spotted. He was never even suspected of killing her. But I knew all along it was him. The Kazuko I knew would never have jumped, not even to escape him. Believe me, I tried to tell everyone I knew about what sort of man he really was. But...I was young, and naïve. His clout made it all to easy to escape any kind of penalty."

"Is...that really true?" Noburo said, after a frightened gasp. "Yuchi...I didn't even know he was capable of doing this!"

"Of course you didn't." Keiya said, frowning. "I couldn't get any more acting work. I was blacklisted from the business entirely. No more auditions for me. Yuchi was free, and no doubt abused countless other women. And I was powerless to protect them..."

"Keiya..." Asami said, sadly. "It's alright. We finally have a chance to finally destroy Yuchi. Death is too good for him."

"What are you plotting?" Natsumi asked.

"Simple. We're going to broadcast these as hidden audio recordings, leaked by an anonymous source. They may be his actual memories, but we can easily make them seem as if they're captured by hidden cameras and microphones." Asami said. "My online popularity is still growing, but if I do my best to share these recordings for the world to see...that bastard Yuchi will lose everything he's worked so hard for. And rot in jail, too."

Noburo was shaking. An actor he had once admired was now a pariah – no, a murderer. One he had shaken hands with. "Then he really is...a killer..."

"Isn't he?" Keiya said. "Now the entire city gets to find out. The various recordings are being leaked via this Lunar Base as we speak. The huge amount of tourists coming to the Space Museum will be even more motivated to spread the news around. The police will be very interested in this. If we need to influence them any further, we will. But I suspect your little play will be canceled, Komatsu. What a shame...your whole family was looking so forward to watching you play a supporting character, weren't they? They'll just have to wait until next year."

"This isn't happening, is it?!" Noburo said. The monitor changed screen again, to a social media feed for one of the recordings. Comments came flooding in, and hundreds of them were from a certain group – Kazuko's ever loyal fans, who mourned her years later.

"You should be happy!" Keiya cheered, gleefully. "The day has finally come. Yuchi will finally lose everything he worked so hard for. That wretched play I was passed over for will never return to the stage! And the world will finally know what happened to Kazuko...we never did run away to America together as planned. But I've finally avenged her! And I never would have come this far had it not been for Nisa Liat!"

"Nisa..." Kei said, frowning.

"Man..." Masato said, still stunned. "Yuchi was a terrible person...but what are you going to do next, Keiya?"

"Me...?" Keiya said. "Nisa Liat still requires my help. Asami and I are far more valuable to Bythos than the likes of Kaii and that useless oath Toki."

"...Keiya, Toki's in a bad place right now. You shouldn't be so hard on him." Asami said, anxiously.

"What do you mean?!" Noburo shouted. "What's happening with Toki?"

"He's vanished off the face of the Earth. We can't reach him. He simply left a note behind, saying 'Don't come after me. Anyone who tries to follow me will just have their hopes crushed. Tell Kaii and Noburo I love them both.'" Keiya said, chuckling. "His love isn't exactly much of a boon, is it? More like a millstone."

"...Dad." Noburo said, sadly.

_It's the first time I've heard him call Toki 'Dad'. Wait. That note. It's not...Toki would do that, would he?_

"It was obvious to all of us who Kaii's real father was. Oh yes, Nisa knew from the start, and made sure we didn't let him know. That dim boy couldn't quite figure it out on his own, of course. Is it any wonder his academics suffered so horribly?" Keiya said, amused.

"Keiya, stop it! The other Aeon Admins are hunting for Toki and Kaii as we speak. But so far, nothing. Nisa Liat's allowed us to work on this instead." Asami continued.

"I think we've heard enough." Kei said. "Exposing Yuchi for his true character is a noble cause, I can't argue with that. Yet you're planning on using the public's reaction against this to fuel support for Bythos, aren't you?"

"That's one added benefit. It could very well lead to the next true Cognition Core. Once I have it, if it's Tarumi, I'll finally be accepted in the acting world again. I'll be able to achieve the success I deserve. Kazuko won't be with me...but if she's watching over me, I can live with that. And I won't let your gang stop me."

Asami prepared her partisan, ready for combat. "It's time we put an end to this. You'll see for yourself I'm just as tough as Toki!"

Just then, three other faces entered the command center – none other than the Azure Squad.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived..." Keiya said. "Your loyalty may be to Kaii and Toki, but do not forget your orders from Nisa Liat."

"We know. We'll help you capture these insurgents." Aritomo said, albeit regretfully. "It's not personal. It's only orders."

Shintaro, facing the squad, took out his sword. Akari and Kohaku joined his side, and the three rushed at them, taking Aritomo and the girls by surprise.

"Alright. Natsumi! Masato! And you, Noburo. Let's take down these two!" Kei said, rushing forward with her three remaining allies. "Aeon Admins don't scare me anymore. Bring it!"

"Now I see how wrong I was to idolise Yuchi..." Noburo said. "But the acting world of Shinshuto isn't yours to control. It's no one's. If you can't understand that, I'll just have to cut you down!"

"I see your father's confidence in you. Both fathers, it seems..." Keiya said.

"If Toki knew I was going head to head with his boy, he'd kill me." Asami said, dejected. "But...it's not like he's here to stop me. I won't hold anything back, not even against a friend's son! Go, Kaihime!"

Asami began this encounter with a Sukukaja, adding to her already impressive speed. She had surprised the students of Chieki several times with her athleticism, but this was something else. Landing a hit on her would be tough – as Noburo soon discovered, as she deftly dodged his sharp blades.

"Can't touch me!" Asami chided, sticking her tongue out. However, in her arrogance, she was sliced via a Steel Wheel, as thrown by Brigid.

"What the – pay attention!" Keiya chided. Asami, wincing, looked up at him in pain. "No matter. It's but a scratch. Sin, Lunar Ace!"

The four cards appeared again, as they had when used on Astraeus. Yet this time, the lucky card was the Ace of Diamonds, which fired a crystalline laser right at Kei's body – knocking her down.

"Kei!" Masato cried. "You jerk. You'll pay for that! Electroball!"

Camulus stepped up to the plate – so to speak – and swung the sphere of electricity right into Keiya's chest – electrocuting him rather severely. Falling to his knees, he grimaced, but countered with his cards. Somehow, they were as fast as bullets and were capable of far worse than paper cuts.

"Great shot. I'm glad I picked the Yoshinaga Duo!" Kei said, gleefully. Asami came rushing, stabbing forward, but the Wild Card's katana blocked most of her thrusts. Angry, Asami summoned a Zio Stone and hurled it at Kei, but its sparks didn't seem to hurt the Wild Card – after she switched to Uzume.

"Mapsi!"

Her goddess Persona complied, blasting the two enemies with her psychokinetic energy. Not to be outdone, Noburo set his sights on Asami, and while his swords couldn't seem to strike her, Aengus's Kouha certainly did the trick.

"Ow!" Asami groaned. "You jerk! Is this how you treat your girlfriend?"

"Don't you dare talk about Teruko-chan!" Noburo hollered. He continued the attack, his swords charged with his anger – and finally, he struck the video-blogger with both, sending her spinning.

"What's the matter with you? Can't you do better than this?" Keiya asked. Masato rushed up behind him, but his assault was halted – as the card magician swiftly turned around and rapidly kicked him, with only one leg. "You thought you could take me by surprise? Ridiculous. I'll destroy you in no time at all."

"Like hell you will!" Natsumi yelled. "Searing Circle!"

Brigid flew her burning hot ring of steel right into Keiya, the flames gravely damaging him. Yet, he kept his composure, and his expression remained one of cold indifference. Perhaps before his acting career had been destroyed, he had been prone to the occasional smile. Yet now he seemed to have shut off his emotions. Even so, Kei wasn't about to have pity on him.

"Eat THIS!"

Kei leapt up, and Jack O'Lantern briefly flashed – her katana began to glow as a result. With two swift swings, she slashed him with the power of flames.

"Not bad..." Keiya said. He turned his eye to Masato, and smirked. "Pretending you're a reformed character must have you convinced people want to be your friend. I wonder, however, how that will work out for you after this? It's a little trick I've devised, and you have the honour of being its first victim."

"What the hell are you talking about, you jerk -"

Masato suddenly vanished, and in his place, a white blank card appeared. The girls and Noburo gasped – the card grew to four times its size, and a picture of a horrified Masato appeared on it. Then, the card disappeared, only to be replaced by four seemingly exact replicas.

"Enjoy your Nocturnal Prison..." Keiya said. "Pick the card you think is him. Get it wrong...and it'll be game over for him. Choose wisely."

"Dammit!" Noburo said.

"Don't forget about me now!" Asami yelled, with Kaihime on the warpath. Fiery embers surged up her spear, setting the blade aflame – and it became a Fiery Pike. It plunged into Noburo, and his screams echoed painfully throughout the entire moon surface.

"Ugh. This is tough..." Kei said, anxious. With Masato out of action, she had to act fast. Sarutahiko emerged, and with a Giant Slice, she briefly stopped the fuschia-haired girl from causing further damage.

"Thanks, Kei!" Noburo cheered. "Aengus! Beannaithe Lann!"

Aengus span at Asami, his blessed blades faster than ever. She screamed herself, pleading for Keiya to make it end – alas, he wasn't fast enough to stop it, and she collapsed, groaning in agony.

"Kei..." Natsumi said. "We've got to save my brother!"

"I know, I know!" Kei said, annoyed. "But...they all look alike. If I choose the wrong one, I-"

"Don't worry," Natsumi said, smiling and stepping forward. "I know the real Masato. Look closely. The nose. Out of all four of these cards, only the one on the far right has the right length. It's the same nose as me..."

Swiftly, Natsumi touched the rightmost card – and the others disappeared. Keiya swore out loud, his gambit having failed to destroy his hated enemy. Said foe, however, was overjoyed, and embraced his sister tenderly.

"I dunno how to thank you, sis..." Masato said, tearing up.

"We can start by taking down these bastards!" Noburo said. "

"Right. I'm not gonna forgive you, Keiya. Trying to kill my brother only means that you're gonna die a fiery death! Agi!"

Brigid's flames of indignation burned rapidly, setting Keiya aflame yet again. Angry, he hurled more razor-sharp cards, slicing through the twins, Kei and Noburo.

"Keiya!" Asami cried. "That's it, you're all dead! Mazio!"

Kaihime's thunder struck down everyone, sending sparks everywhere. Noburo seemed rather peaky – but Kei decided it was her turn to play medic.

"Sarasvati!"

The beautiful Hindu goddess, the wife of Brahma, played her sitar and cured Noburo with Dia. Empowered, he called down Aengus.

"Lion's Blade!"

With two large swings, moving like the fangs of a lion, the Persona slashed Asami with primal brutality.

"You bastard!" Asami yelled, stabbing at the boy as fast as she could. He may be the son of one of her allies, but she wasn't about to just lose to him. "You won't win!"

"Says you!" Masato said. "Iron Impact!"

Camulus charged up his club, but before he could hit the girl, she was shoved aside – and Keiya took the full brunt of the assault.

"K-Keiya..." Asami uttered, shocked.

"These brutes won't get a chance to defeat you. I promise." Keiya swore, calling down Sin. However, Natsumi saw her chance – a Searing Circle was thrown at him. Asami gulped, and finally set her sights on Natsumi.

"Why are you still with Bythos?!" The red-haired Yoshinaga girl asked. "You got what you wanted in the end, didn't you?"

"This isn't just about our regrets. It's our chance to rebuild Shinshuto into what it should have been!" Asami yelled. The two clashed with their weapons, their strength both fierce. "Dammit! If only you'd join us...!"

"I can't!" Natsumi said, tearfully. "It's just not right..."

"Stubborn to the end. Very well." Keiya said. "Lunar Ace!"

The Ace chosen this time by Sin was Hearts – and the red heart symbol flew over Asami's weary head. It's red radiance managed to pour into her body, healing her wounds.

"...This is going to be a long fight, isn't it?" Kei asked. "...Are Shintaro and the others okay?"

"The Azure Squad is giving them quite a fight," Natsumi said, anxious. "so we better hurry up and win this!"

"Don't be stupid. There's no way you can win now!" Asami said, urging Kaihime to manifest. "Shockwave Spear!"

Kaihime raised her weapon high in the air, aiming directly at the sky. A bolt of lightning struck the spear hand, causing it to overflow with electricity. She thrust forward into Kei, causing a huge explosion that sent sparks flying all over the lunar base.

"Argh!" She wailed, losing her composure somewhat. "...You bitch!"

"You're the bitch! Always getting in our way!" Asami yelled. "If it wasn't for your group, Natsumi would be with us! She'd be safe!"

"Girls..." Keiya said. "Can we cut the childish name-calling? I thought you were better than that, Asami."

She turned away, red in the face. "Sorry, Keiya, got a bit carried away."

"You're rather animated, even outside of your catalog of videos. Nothing wrong with that, of course." Keiya said, smirking. He hurled more cards, hitting both the twins quite sharply.

"Showoff!" Masato shouted. "Take this! Mazio!"

Electricity rained down on the two Aeon Admins, but it barely even touched Asami. Keiya, however, was somewhat shocked, and his ponytail finally came undone, revealing his long mane of perfectly straight, shiny dark hair.

"Wow..." Masato said. "Just what conditioner  _do_  you use?"

"It's imported from Belgium, actually." Asami said, nonchalant.

"Asami..."

Gulping, the girl continued her attacks. With great dexterity, she pierced Masato and kicked Noburo away at the same time, her heavy boots giving her an added boost to her strength.

"Kei!" Natsumi cheered. "Here!"

Brigid bestowed a Sukukaja upon Kei – and Noburo, following her example, sent a Rakukaja by way of Aengus.

"Thanks, you two." Kei said. "Jack Frost!"

The fairy Persona, with a permanently toothy grin, fired huge clumps of ice at Asami – and not only that, sent a chilling wind down Kei's blade. She struck the internet sensation with a violently cold swing, sending her to the floor.

"Oww!" Asami said. "How are you even doing that?"

"You can learn a lot at Kansei." Kei said, grinning.

Keiya, however, was no longer amused. Summoning Sin, the card dealing moon Persona, he engaged in Lunacy. On Earth, this would have revealed the moon in the sky and healed Keiya according to the moon phase. But here, they were already on the moon – and thus, it healed him almost completely. Cackling, hand over his mouth, the others glared harshly at him.

"Did you earnestly think you were on par with the Aeon Administrators yet? Ridiculous. I'll shatter that illusion right here, right now."

"This isn't going well..." Noburo said, weary. While the RainBow items had helped cure their wounds somewhat, their endurance was waning. It didn't seem like Shintaro and the others were free to assist yet, either. "Kei, what do we do?"

"We've got to survive this, no matter what." Kei said. "Meditation!"

Ostara emerged, and the favourite Wild Card Persona healed Kei with inner concentration. Striking fiercely, her katana slashed through Keiya. But Asami sent her flying with her rapid-fire thrusts.

"I don't think so!" Asami yelled. "I'm sick of dealing with you all! Natsumi, you too! Kaihime, give me the power I need...I don't care what it costs me! I just need to win, for everyone's sake!"

Her Persona was summoned, and sent a strange red and pink fireball, the Flaring Fury, over Asami's head. It sent a burning hot stream of air into her, and her body began to glow deep red. Her partisan's blade became seemingly pure fire as well.

"Take this! And this! Just die, all of you!" She screamed, thrashing wildly. Kei gasped – her attacks were scorchingly savage, sending flames all over the base. Luckily, it didn't seem like its equipment was flammable, but Asami left in this state was far more dangerous than an accidental fire. Even Natsumi was hurting badly from this, and there was no end in sight to her former companion's rage.

"Stop, dammit, stop!" Masato pleaded.

"SHUT UP! You're always in the way! Natsumi would be so much happier if you weren't around! If only she could see it...I'll make her see it! Or I'll kill her too!"

"She really has gone insane...argh!" Natsumi yelled, as the burning partisan seared her body. "H-Help!"

"Hang on, Natsumi, I've got an idea!" Noburo said – and despite his pain, he still had a lot of power left in him. "Shining Wall!"

Four giant glass walls appeared in front of the four – and they briefly shimmered. Asami, too wild to notice, struck Natsumi again – but her primal energy was reflected tenfold, blessed by Aengus.

"Argh!" She growled. "You little shit! How dare you! I'll kill you, and everyone else too!"

"Now now, Asami." Keiya said, calmly. "Let's try to pacify you. I developed this skill just for you. Tranquil Pulse!"

Sin emerged, and turned its gaze to the Moon – and a pulse of light came from somewhere on its surface, most likely the Sea of Tranquillity, a serene place. The light hit Noburo, but luckily, his Persona could endure the blow with minimal risk. The radiance surrounded the group, and Asami's sanity seemed to be restored.

"Phew..." Asami said. "You really created that ability to help me?"

"We work well as a team, you and I. It'd be a sin – no pun intended – to leave you in a burning rage with no way to stop it." Keiya said, smiling.

"Thank you, Keiya..." Asami said.

"You're not the only ones with great teamwork." Masato said. "Right, sis?"

"Right! Here we go, Brigid!"

"Camulus! It's your time to shine!"

Camulus conjured a savage thundercloud above his and Brigid's heads. She danced beneath the clouds and concluded with a click of her fingers. Then, scorching flames glided from her into the clouds They became full of heat and power, and floated over the two Aeons.

"What? No, not this again!" Asami bemoaned.

"Your time's up!  **Pyroclastic Tempest**!"

A tremendous storm of lightning and fire hailed down on Keiya and Asami, both electrocuting and burning them severely. Now, having seen the extent of their enemy's powers, they seemed to be planning a counterattack.

"Be careful. They're not going to just take that lying down." Kei said.

"Course they aren't. They're standing up." Masato said, sticking his tongue out.

"...Maybe be quiet a little." Noburo despaired.

Keiya clicked his fingers, and Sin flew up above the group. Asami likewise summoned Kaihime, and the two Personas stared at each other and nodded. A 'moon' of blue crystal appeared and began to glow brighter and brighter from the inside. It then became charged with electric force and fired a massive ray of thunderous light.

" **Lunatic Pandora!** "

The resulting catastrophe knocked everyone for six – and some. It had been more than Noburo could bear. He could barely stand, and his allies were in even worse shape.

"N-No..." Noburo said. "Is this...our limit?"

"No." Kei said, adamantly. "It...isn't. Follow my lead. There's a way we can save the day."

"Huh?" Noburo asked. "You mean, team up with you?"

Kei nodded. "It'd be an honour. You might not be able to trust Yuchi anymore, but please, put your faith in me. I promise it won't be misplaced."

"Alright. I know I can count on you. Let's do this. Aengus!"

"Heed my prayers, Angel!"

Noburo emerged below the holy being, and their blessed eminence started to shine throughout the entire lunar surface. Out of nowhere, a choir sang a magnificent song of angels, one of utmost devotion. This melody sent down a gigantic pillar of light, enveloping the entire base.

" **Holy Song!"**

When it was over, Keiya and Asami were in deep agony, up against the now-shattered window. Most of the equipment had been ruined, and the satellite dish could be seen falling off the roof and crashing into a heap onto the rocky surface below.

"Huh?" Natsumi said, rising to her feet.

"You guys? Did you...sing that for us?" Masato asked, also recovering.

"It's over, you two." Kei said, pointing her katana at the two Aeon Administrators. "We'll be taking you into custody now."

"I can't allow that."

All of a sudden, the roof of the base was ripped clean off, and a dark bolt of lightning appeared. Emerging from the resulting energy was the girl from Shintaro and Kohaku's dreams, in her familiar dress. She opened her eyes, which were an unwholesome red hue, and chuckled quietly. This was the same girl who had spoken to them not so long ago via their app, but this time, she had graced the team with her presence.

"You guys! What's happening?!" Shintaro demanded. The Azure Squad were at their limit, and ceased their attacks.

"Princess..." Fumika said, still in deep agony.

"Nisa...Liat..." Konomi whimpered.

"It's about time we met in the flesh." Nisa Liat said, bowing majestically. "You know my name by now, of course. I presume Keiya-kun told you the tale of that callous murderer Yuchi?"

"Nisa Liat. Why are you appearing in our dreams?" Kohaku asked. "Both me and Shintaro saw you in them!"

"I should have known the Azure Squad wouldn't be strong enough to prevail, even if I assigned them to another pair of Aeons. But regardless of their defeat, this was a successful mission." Nisa Liat said, smugly. It was as if she hadn't even heard Kohaku's question – which had mystified the others.

"Nisa, I'm sorry!" Asami screamed. "I...I thought I could win with Keiya..."

"It's not over for us yet, Asami-chan. Don't despair." Nisa Liat said. "As for Yuchi, he actually had a history of abuse towards women in the acting world. Yet his highly lauded performances were contributing quite a bit to ticket sales, and thus, tourism to Shinshuto. I'm sure those in the city council were desperate not to expose the truth. It's too late for them now, however. Mayor Ashikaga will no doubt curse our name once more."

"Who are you?!" Kei screamed. "Answer me! Why do you -"

"Ah, the Wild Card. Just like me, your heart yields many different masks." Nisa Liat said, wandering close to Kei. She froze on the spot, as Nisa put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes...you and Ostara are strong. Perhaps one day, you'll be enough to face me and Rosmerta."

"Rosmerta?" Kei asked.

Nisa walked away, smirking, and held her Gnosis aloft in the sky. She soon became shrouded in a lurid pink aurora, unlike the blue of the regular Persona users. There was a tremendous flash of light, blinding everyone present. Once the light faded, the resulting Persona was both reminiscent, yet different, to one Shintaro had seen many a time.

_It's Ostara!_

A pink-skinned lady, she had on a long, flowing scarlet dress, with jewelry adorned with rubies. Swirling around her were petals of numerous gorgeous flowers, and her long, wavy black hair was silky and went to her bare feet. In her right hand, she held a silver staff with a red wreath on top, and a thorny rose in the centre.

**I am thou. Thou art I. I cometh from the sea of thy heart. I am Rosmerta, she who will guide ye fools to eternal dusk.**

"The hell?!" Masato sputtered. "Why does she look like Kei's Persona?!"

"Yeah! That's plagiarism!" Natsumi exclaimed.

"Poor children. Making jokes won't save you from limitless power. I advise you to remember that. But words are only words. It's time I displayed why exactly those in Bythos fear my wrath!" Nisa Liat declared.

She clicked her fingers, as Rosmerta flew outside of the base, above the moon's surface. The unknown Persona became cloaked in red energy and raised both arms to the sky. Black spirals of even more power surrounded the Persona, combining to create the  **Cosmic Votum**. They flew up in the sky, vanishing, only for a colossal pillar of light to fall down upon the lunar surface. Sturdy as the surface may be, even it couldn't cope with this much pressure, as the unholy omnipotence rained down on it. Finally, after one final explosion of dark dust and matter, the area was clear - revealing a huge, gaping hole that seemed to go completely through the moon.

"Oh my god!" Shintaro bellowed.

"This is real, right? How...?!" Akari asked, somewhat timidly.

"Nisa Liat has this kind of energy?!" Noburo shouted, paralyzed with fear.

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to annihilate you all tonight. I only appeared to guide my beloved Aeons to safety. And the Azure Squad as well, I suppose. Come along, all of you. As for this Lunar Base, do what you will with it. I doubt anything here's still in working condition. The real moon is still intact, so no need to worry about the affect on the tide. In the Akartharto Kosmos, anyway..."

"Wait! Don't go!" Kei demanded. "We need to -"

"I'll see you again, Wild Card. One way or another, one of us will destroy the other."

She hurled a blue orb at Kei's stomach, sending her flying to the floor. Cackling, she vanished in a blast of red energy, taking her Admins and the Azure Squad with her.

"Kei! Are you alright?" Shintaro asked, rushing to her side.

"Y-Yeah...I'm fine. I think..." Kei uttered. "But why...why does she look like that?!"

"That's what I want to know," Kohaku said. "Her Rosmerta, and your Ostara. Is it just a Wild Card thing?"

"Guys, what was that about 'dreams'?" Akari asked.

"Let's get out of here...and we'll tell you," Shintaro said. Kohaku took the orb – the Cognition Core of the Museum – and they vanished to the outdoors, in the real world.

**|Asakita – Great Beyond Space Museum|18:20 pm|**

"I...I can't believe it."

Masato had heard the story, of these dreams. It sounded like a nightmare to him, Shintaro thought. But it was true – or was it? Nisa Liat in these dreams felt like a different person to the one they had faced back on the Moon.

"Why is she replacing Kei?" Akari asked. "That's what confuses me. What is she trying to say?"

"I don't know." Kei said, tearful. "I'm scared..."

"Don't..." Shintaro began to say but trailed off. He was worried too. They had just been in the presence of their true enemy – and she had radiated pure dominance. Rosmerta's malignant energies were truly fearsome, and Shintaro wasn't even sure if they could counter them.

"She gave us the Cognition Core for the Museum. Wouldn't it be more to her benefit if they held onto it?" Natsumi asked. "She's not making any sense at all!"

"Maybe it's more like taunting us," Kei said. "Saying that we might as well have the museum – she can find a new base anywhere else, and warp it to her wishes."

"Noburo, are you alright?" Masato asked, concerned. "Yuchi's all over the news – and it's big."

"...I don't know." Noburo said, still shaken. "If...all of that was real, then it means the man I aspired to is nothing but a cold-hearted murderer."

"What's going to happen to the play?" Kohaku asked. "...It's really going to be postponed, isn't it?"

"At least," Shintaro said. "But that's probably the least of our worries right now."

The boy nodded, resolved. "He's right. The play might not happen this year, or any other year, but now I know what really matters. Protecting my friends and family from Nisa Liat and her evil allies. And if Toki and Kaii have really disappeared, then...I have to find them. There's something I want to say to both of them as well."

"We'll help you," Kohaku said, arm around him. "You can count on us."

"Thank you, everyone. We should get going. Don't forget, we have to report this to my dad." Noburo cautioned. "He'll freak out if he hears about this from someone else. Leave it with me, okay?"

The team went their separate ways, the image of Nisa Liat and Rosmerta still stuck in their minds. Her powers were still unknown, but it seemed for a moment like they should shatter even the stratosphere.


	23. Golden Promise

|May 2|Ginumi – Grand Laguna Hotel|14:40|

Still in Golden Week, the team should have been enjoying their time off from school. Yet, here they were discussingtheir eventful encounter with Asami & Keiya the previous evening. Indeed, it had been a rather tense battle that ended with the appearance of Nisa Liat. Her supreme power was enough to destroy much of the moon. It may not have been the true moon, but her power certainly was genuine.

"If Nisa Liat possesses this kind of raw power, why does she even need the Aeon Administrators?" Netuno asked.

"Perhaps it's not so much their skill but what they bring to Bythos as individuals." Novalie said, as she serious considered the question. "Or perhaps she genuinely cares for them in some way."

"Either way, we face an even harder battle than we anticipated." Shigeru said. "We owe it to ourselves to not run away from this challenge."

"Easy for you to say..." Akari said, whimpering.

"What's the alternative?" Shigeru asked. His scowl was fierce, and the animal lover cowered away from him. "Watch as everything you know is irrevocably changed into a hell unlike anything you've ever seen?"

"Whoa!" Reia said, standing up. "You're just as scary as Nisa Liat, you know. We still have one more of the main Cognition Cores than she does."

"Speaking of scary..." Masato said. "Did you see that crowd outside Yuchi's house? They must have broken every single window there!"

"...Yeah." Noburo said, flatly. "The director called me this morning. They just said they didn't think they'd be able to put on the show..."

"Ever again?" Kei asked. Noburo nodded, somewhat tearful. "That's awful..."

"That damn Yuchi!" Noburo shouted, banging his fists against his chair's armrests. "How could he do that? He's ruined the play forever! And killed that poor woman..."

Shintaro shuddered. Since the news broke out, there had been a massive outcry of hate against Yuchi, even from former cast members. So many stories came flooding out that had been suppressed for years. It had been him that made Death By Moonlight so popular. How appropriate that the moon had been the place that made the truth behind the play known. No doubt the police were involved already.

"At least she has justice." Masato said. "Keiya's a piece of shit, but I think I understand how he feels."

"This public outcry is causing a lot of havoc in Tarumi, though. Especially the playhouse. Some of the top brass there are being accused of covering up the scandal. I think it's going to be a while before things can get back to normal." Reia said. "...It's good that Yuchi will get what he deserves, I know. But at what cost?"

"Keeping the public calm is down to us." Shigeru said, with a dour look. "Noburo, I know you're disappointed -"

"Dad, I don't care that much about the play right now. Teruko, she...she's still not talking to me. I don't know what to do. Maybe...it really is over between us."

Masato shook his head, angry. "What, you giving up that easy? You two have been together for a long time! She wouldn't just throw that all away over one argument, would she?"

"...What can I do to make things right?" Noburo said. "She knows I'm up to something. But I can't tell her what. There's no way! If anything were to happen to her, I...I'd never forgive myself."

"But you can't live without her, can you?" Kohaku asked. "Try talking to her, one more time. Tell her how much she means to you. If she really is that special, you can't give up."

"Exactly. You get to spend every day at school with your girl. I've still never met Dorothy face to face. So you better not give up on this – in times like these, you need someone like Teruko by your side."

"...Son." Shigeru said. "Your friends are right. Your love for Teruko is a lot stronger than most grown-ups I know. So please, don't simply let it end. At least try one last time, with all your heart."

"Thanks, Dad...and everyone else, too. I'll do what I can." Noburo said, nodding.

"Atta boy!" Hiroyuki said, admirably. "With the way things are, you can't lose what matters most to you. Me and my wife had a few ups and downs before we finally tied the knot. Course, she doesn't know about any of this. She's worried enough about me over the years I've been a soldier."

"Teruko would go crazy if I told her I was joining the JSDF..." Noburo said, smirking. "I'll stick to acting. Maybe it'll take me a bit longer to get into a big production than I realised, but if she's with me all the way, I don't mind."

The night continued, yet try as he might, Shintaro couldn't quite get comfortable. After all, Nisa Liat had appeared in his dream before she emerged in the Theio Kosmos. Who was she, really? Why was she in Kei's place in both dreams? The bookish teenager desperately wanted to know. But until he did, this feeling of unease would not end.

May 5th|Tarumi – Aoi Recording Studio|12:15 pm|

It was the early afternoon, and the Electric Sea group were hard at work in their own small private studio. With high-tech recording equipment, and a good environment to create music without outside distractions, Netuno and his three bandmates were hard at work creating the title track for their next album, Nós já fomos como um – 'We Once Were As One'.

"Nice work, Netuno." Elzira Abrantes, the band's drummer, said. Her blonde hair had dyed dark blue tips, tying in somewhat with the band's colours of sea blue and sandy yellow. Somewhat of a tomboy, she was usually dressed in a green t-shirt and ripped denim shorts. "Man, living in Japan is a lot harder than I thought. How are you coping, Heliodoro?"

"I'm actually adjusting rather nicely. People here seem to love us a lot more than back in Portugal. But I must admit, there are times where I get homesick."

Heliodoro Anaquim, the band's bassist, tended to dress in smart clothing, yet he had an unkempt look as part of his image, with a loose tie, crumpled shirt, and unbuttoned blue jacket. With hair of red in a short cut and a rather thick bushy beard, he was actually the eldest member of the band at 29, and the most muscular. He was known for scaring even the security team at their concerts.

"I never thought you'd all agree to moving thousands of miles away..." Netuno said, as the band moved into their rest area, and Elzira immediately got to work on brewing everyone some of her favourite coffee blend. "But as long as we're all together, we can make anything happen."

"True. Living here has been a beautiful experience. Despite everything..."

The vocalist of the band, Lenore La Lacerda, was a statesque starlet, her low, haunting vocals lending beautifully with the music the others provided. Her long curly hair was naturally black, but she had purple streaks in it, to match her sleeveless satin shirt and flowing dark skirt. Very much the opposite of Elzira, she tended to be the face of the band, even if Netuno was their leader.

"I'm so sorry, Lacerda."

"Don't be, Elzira. I'm fine, honestly. Besides, rather than sit at home and dwelling on what has happened, I'd rather sing. I...I can't express my feelings any other way." Lenore said. "Bythos...I wish them a fiery death. A raging flame that consumes all in its path, engulfing every one of its group."

"You really loved him, didn't you?" Heliodoro asked.

"Hachiro was a wonderful person." Lenore said, wistfully. "You remember the day we first met, don't you?"

"How could we forget? It was when we got off the plane to Japan, and he crashed into you. Then, before you got mad, he started apologising a thousand times, getting all flustered..." Elzira said. "He was a dork, yeah, but a cool dork."

"We all saw how happy you were with him." Netuno said, nostalgic of those times. "He always hated having to work long hours and being late for you dates, and he kept finding ways to make it up to you."

Lenore nodded, then turned away, to avoid the others seeing her face – and most likely, her tears. Heliodoro and Netuno looked on, protectively, while Elzira sat there in glum silence.

The first time Netuno saw Hachiro Fukuyama, a salaryman for a technology firm, the guitarist couldn't understand what Lenore saw in him. He was an older man in his mid thirties, and while not exactly ugly, he was plain and somewhat portly. Yet when Lenore and him were together, love seemed to blossom, and their laughing, smiling faces, slowly made Netuno realise something.

It didn't matter what Hachiro was on the surface. Deep down, he cared for Lenore's heart – the same heart heard in all of her music.

Then came the phone call from the police, while the band were at Netuno's apartment celebrating the digital release of their new song.

The building Hachiro worked at had gone up in flames, and he had been consumed by the fire before he could reach for the fire exit. He had saved plenty of his co-workers by leading the fire escape, but in the chaos of the blaze, he ran back to save one of his friends. The police were only able to give Lenore one of his belongings, a golden ring with a sapphire in it. An engagement ring.

Bythos had publicly criticised the same firm, Soul Tech Inc., for 'blatant corruption' the day before. Yet this was little known to the public, due to the tech firm being rather small to begin with. Hachiro had told Lenore about his fears, but she had largely dismissed them. Had she acknowledged that Bythos was truly as dangerous as he suspected, would he have been able to propose? She didn't know for sure. All she did know was that her answer would have been 'yes', without a moment's hesistation. A happy day that would never come. No one would ever love her as deeply as Hachiro Fukuyama.

"...Lenore." Netuno said, after a long silence.

"I'm alright, Netuno. You don't have to worry about me so much."

"Sure we do! We're not just a band. We're family. You hurt, we hurt with you." Elzira said, strongly. "You don't have to hide your feelings from us."

Lenore finally turned around, and while she wiped her tears away, her eyes were still red from crying. Netuno's own eyes began to water, but he kept his cool, and drank from the coffee his tomboyish drummer friend poured.

Lenore, don't worry. I'll tear down everyone in Bythos for you. It might not be with the flames you want, but all of them are gonna suffer for what they did. I don't care if it was that dipshit Kaii, that brat Asami, that smug Keiya, or that drunkard waste of space Toki. Or any of the other five. I'll kill whoever it was that started that fire. Maybe...I'll kill them all.

"Hey, don't get so angry." Lenore said. "I don't want you getting into any trouble, do you hear me? You and Heliodoro need to stay calm."

"...I'll try." Both Heliodoro and Netuno said. Elzira laughed slightly, as she put on the radio, drumming her fingers on the table. Hachiro's death had at least made Electric Sea stronger. Yet what Netuno wanted most was to bring back Lenore's sound of joy, not her dirge of despair.

|Mizuho – Reverie|13:00 pm|

Novalie and Reia had met up, both of them on a day off from either studying or work. Thus, the Norwegian belle had treated her friend to some delicious strawberry cheesecake and some aromatic coffee.

"We don't get together that often, do we?" Reia asked. "It's either working all day at the store or fighting some weird demon...thing with five hundred eyes."

"At least you haven't been hit on by an Incubus." Novalie said.

"True, but the Succubus was surprisingly forward before I killed her..." Reia said, amused. "So, what's new with college?"

"I aced the last exam. Top of the class, actually." Novalie said, beaming. "Mother was so proud when I called her over the internet last night. Although the time difference made it hard to find the right moment to contact her. Norway and Japan, eight hours between them."

"I studied abroad too, remember. I know all about that." Reia said, smirking. "Course...I didn't have anyone back home who wanted to take my calls. But hey, I'm a tough girl. You've seen me in battle enough times to know that. It's how I got through those years of education."

Novalie grinned. Ever since the two of them met via Shigeru, the girls had discovered just how powerful they could be. Reia didn't seem to have any family, or many friends, but she excuded confidence and resilience regardless. No wonder Netuno liked her so much, Novalie thought. Yet the fashion designer didn't let on how she felt.

"By the way, if things go well, I might take some time off in the summer. I'm thinking of going back to London for a bit." Reia said.

"Oh, really?" Novalie asked. "But I thought there wasn't anything there you wanted to come back to?"

"Well..." Reia said, looking somewhat troubled. "With everything going on between Shigeru's boy and that Toki guy, it's got be making about the people I met back then. We made a lot of promises to stay in touch, but even with modern technology, it's been hard. Besides, I'm struggling to come up with new designs."

"And you think going down to the UK will stir up some inspiration?" Novalie asked. "...Then you should go. If you get to meet up with that huge group you studied with, even better."

Reia smiled, and finished her coffee. "What about you, Novalie? How are you coping with student life in Japan? Your grades obviously are second to none. I bet you'd beat that know-it-all Shintaro. The amount of random book trivia he peppers his conversations with..."

"I don't mind. Books are part of what helped humanity create society and culture." Novalie said, happily. "To tell the truth, I'm afraid. I love college, and all my classmates. Yet at the same time, I'm fighting bloodthirsty Shadows almost every other day, not to mention those hellions in Bythos. All I wanted was a peaceful life, not fighting a criminal group like Bythos. But that's selfish, isn't it?"

Reia shook her head. "No. It's normal. I'd rather I never had that Gnosis in the first place. Even if it meant meaning you and everybody else, the Gnosis has just brought me a lot of stress. And made me aware of how powerful Bythos really is. What if it never ends? Or someone else shows up that I have to fend off with Eunomia?"

"...There must be a way to defeat Nisa Liat and her Aeon Administrators." Novalie said, trying to put on a brave face. "I'll do what I can to help everyone else find it."

"Same. I don't like have a Persona, but I ended up with one anyway. So I'm gonna use it the best I can." Reia said. "Right now, we're just two friends having some great cake. Let's keep it that way, just for today. We can worry about Bythos tomorrow."

"Good thinking. I hope everyone else is enjoying Golden Week, too. Especially the ones from Kansei and Chieki." Novalie said. "...So when are you giving me a free dress? With all the free cake I've brought in for you guys, it seems fair!"

The two laughed out loud, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon shopping in the busy streets of Shinshuto.

|Ginumi – Golden Harbour Alley|13:30 pm|

As it was Golden Week, Hiroyuki finally had some time to spend with his family. Whatever his wife and daughter wanted to do, he would go along with, just to enjoy a few peaceful moments. Here he was, already struggling to carry most of Kaori's shopping bags.

"Dad, c'mon! You're supposed to be a big and strong soldier!"

"Yes, m'aam." Hiroyuki said, smirking.

Kaori was already fourteen, and looked much like her mother with her dark blue hair, cut rather short and spiky. Even so, he couldn't stop thinking of his her as his little bundle of joy. When she was born, he had been away as part of his duties, and he had never quite forgiven himself for not being there.

"Well...fine, I'll carry a few." Kaori said, as her mother Miori laughed. "It'll be good exercise. You really okay with me doing Judo, Dad?"

"Course I am. It's how me and your mother met." Hiroyuki said, smiling fondly back on those days.

"I was the sensei's favourite student, by the way." Miori said, flexing her bicep. She was a strong woman, even if she outwardly seemed quite feminine. Made her a force to be reckoned with, alongside her stubborn will.

"Oh, here!" Kaori said, pointing happily at a huge cafe. "I'll treat you to some shaved ice! Rum & Raisin sound good?"

"Perfect." Hiroyuki said – although he was more grateful for the chance to drop the heavy bags. Perhaps he was too much of a pushover at home. Even being a military man, he couldn't quite say no to his two favourite women in the world.

As he and his wife sat down, he looked at all the clothes and other items his daughter had purchased – or rather, got her parents to buy for her. It had been some time since he had bought her something nice, so he didn't mind too much. It was far more tolerable than some of the vicious Shadows that crossed his path.

I never thought things like those actually existed. Even if it's in another dimension. Wonder how Noburo's getting on with his girlfriend? He better work things out with her. He'd be a fool to let everything go to waste.

While Miori went over to help Kaori with the order, Hiroyuki looked over to the front door. He saw a young woman, in her twenties, that he vaguely remembered seeing before. Yet that was when she was a child.

"Rinaka Tamura?"

The woman looked over, and from the look of fright in her eyes, it was indeed that same child from that fiery night. Her long mulberry hair, her deep blue eyes, and even the small beauty mark near her lips.

"...You're the man from the Ground Forces." Rinaka said, slowly. "The one from so long ago. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"You look well. Nice tattoos, by the way. They suit you." Hiroyuki said, kindly. Her purple vest exposed her long, somewhat muscular arms, that had tribal-like stripes tattooed over them.

"Thanks." Rinaka said, but she remained stoi and somewhat uneasy. Perhaps being reminded of that day was still painful for her.

"What are you doing these days?" Hiroyuki asked.

"Private security work." Rinaka replied, still terse. No further details were forthcoming. Then again, if she was willing to chat idly about her clients, she wouldn't be very good at the private security thing.

"Wow, who's this?" Kaori asked, coming over. "She in the Forces? She looks pretty badass."

"Badass...?" Rinaka said, laughing slightly to herself. "No, nothing like that. This man saved my life fifteen years ago, actually."

"What? He did?" Kaori asked. "I knew Dad saved a lot of people, but -"

"He told me the day it happened." Miori said. "There was a huge fire in a neighbourhood in Totsuka. Your father only managed to save a girl as old as you are now."

"...Yes." Rinaka said. "I never did catch your name. I need to thank you properly."

"Hiroyuki Kita. Still in the JSDF."

"Glad to hear it. You look like you've done well for yourself." Rinaka said. "...Sorry, I need to go. I'm already late as it is. Take care of yourself, Kita-san."

She left briskly, and Hiroyuki watched as she faded from view. He still remembered that burning house he pulled her from, her hysterical sobbing, crying out for her parents. But he only knew her name, and nothing of what happened to her after that.

Her story didn't even that day, like the sixty others who were living in that area. I managed to save at least one person. I wonder, has time been kind to Rinaka? No, I can't worry about that now. I'm here with my family. This is precious time I cannot waste.

|Mizuho – Baseball Field|15:00 pm|

Masato and Eiji were practicing baseball in their favourite field – even in Golden Week, they weren't going to slack off. They had become stars of Chieki, and both had a shot of making it into the professional league after school.

"Here we GO!" Eiji roared, hurling the ball. It flew faster than he had managed ever before, but even this wasn't enough to stop Masato. He swang his favourite bat at the ball, sending it skyrocketing quite some distance.

"Alright! That's my best swing ever!" Masato said. "And I didn't even break a car window last time!"

"Way to go, bud!" Eiji said. He was rather prone to slacking off in class, often getting yelled at by Mr. Koyanagi. But, when it came to baseball, Eiji was truly able to focus with all his mind. He and Masato were two peas in a pod, ever since they started school at Chieki.

I feel bad for Natsumi. She and Asami aren't friends, but me and Eiji are still cool. Wonder what I can do to help sis?

The two finally finished up, and sat on the white bench for a moment to rest. Gulping down his energy drink of choice, a Cielo Mist, Masato let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey Masato, you're hanging out with the Kansei crowd a lot these days. You know anything about their baseball team?" Eiji asked.

The redhead gulped, trying to think. "Not a whole lot. Their best player's called Hidetoshi Nagasawa, but that's about all I know about him. Relax, we'll thrash them. It's their track star we ought to worry about."

"Ah, the legendary Katashi Yamaguchi..." Eiji said. "No one's ever seen anyone run as fast as him in Shinshuto. Course, he's never gone head-to-head with our man Toshiaki."

"He's unstoppable when he gets going. Maybe I ought to go running with him sometime?" Masato said, thinking about it. "Nah, I gotta do what works for me."

Just then, he saw someone coming up to him, wearing much more casual clothes than he was used to seeing him in. A plain blue t-shirt, a silver chain necklace, and dark jeans.

"Shintaro-kun? Good to see ya!" Masato said, excitedly. He got up, and waved at his studious friend to come over.

"Ah, this the guy you were tellin' me about?" Eiji asked.

"Yup. Shintaro, this is Eiji Fujino. He's in Chieki too. Tell your baseball team to watch out for him. And me too." Masato grinning, devilishly.

"Oh, I will." Shintaro said, smugly. "If only our schools had a book reading contest. I'd win hands down. Forty books in one month!"

"Did he just say forty?!" Eiji exclaimed. "Man, that's scary. He superhuman?"

"Eiji, buddy, his brain can't be beat. That's why he's gonna help me with some study notes." Masato said, smiling. "I might even impress Koyanagi-sensei!"

Eiji burst out laughing. "Yeah right! Ever single class we've had with him, he's called us out on being 'lazy', 'apathetic', and 'unenthused'. The worst students he's ever had the pleasure of teaching! If he wasn't such a miserable bastard all the time, we might bother to learn something from him!"

"Ouch." Shintaro said. "Looks like I lucked out by getting into Kansei, then. Course, some of our teachers are weird."

"Anyway, we better get going! Wait a minute. Eiji, you wanna tag along? He might help both of us ace the mid-terms!"

"...Ah, what the hell." Eiji said, packing up his belongings. "It's a good chance to get top secret information about the competition too. Shintaro, you seem like a good guy, but we're still gonna thrash your school this summer!"

"You can try your best, anyway. But I have faith in Kansei!" Shintaro said. "...It's hard to believe it all started with our principals."

"What do you mean?" Masato said.

"Well...our Bunko Hashimoto was in love with Chieki's Principal, Hiroshi Wakazono. But he turned her down, she got offended, and turned our school against yours." Shintaro said, laughing. "That was sixty years ago now..."

"Now that's one hell of a grudge." Eiji said, impressed. "I think you and I are gonna learn a lot from this boy, Masato-kun..."

|Hiyashi – Keyaki Hills|15:30 pm|

Natsumi, keen to do some research and shopping – or 'reshopping', as she called it – had been through most of the fashion boutiques of Hiyashi, and finally had reached the Keyaki Hills. With Kohaku, Akari and Kei, she had quite a few fellow 'researchers' to assist her with her hypothesis.

"So what have we gathered from our case studies?" The fiery haired girl asked.

"Um..." Akari said, adjusting her glasses, as she peered into her bag. "I buy a lot of white clothes?"

"I knew that already!" Natsumi said, laughing. "What I mean is, current fashion trends! If I'm going to be any kind of successful designer, I need to keep up with what's popular. Let's move away from these stores and onto the streets. See what the other girls our age are wearing."

"Sounds good to me. I was getting tired of all the snooty shop assistants giving me dirty looks. I can't help it if I've got such style." Kei said slyly.

"Confident as always, Kei-chan." Kohaku said, laughing somewhat. The girls moved away from the Radiant Dresser shop, and were about to cross the road, when they heard some rather catchy R&B music.

Huh? What's going on?

Curious, Kohaku and the girls walked towards the music, and saw a small crowd clapping along to the beat. There, dancing in perfect sync with the rhythm and somewhat digitised vocals was a girl from Kansei's third year. While there were other girls dancing, none quite had the natural flair of the one taking centre stage.

Huh? No way! She's really dancing?!

Indeed, this blue-haired young lady was nothing short of majestic, moving like a blur through the air. Her long white lace gloves, her starry-patterned leggings, black tap shoes, and airy lilac vest were nothing like the uniform she was usually seen in, and no one would expect her to be this agile – particularly her final move, a huge backflip, in which she landed perfectly on one feet.

"Impressive." Kei said. "Impromptu dance routines aren't common in Shinshuto, are they?"

"Not really...we do get some cool street performers, but..." Natsumi said, astounded.

The girls joined in with the crowd and clapped, while the dancer bowed politely.

"Thank you everyone!" She said. "For those of you that just got here, we're dancing for Kujou Dance School! Our big recital is coming up in June, so please come and see us!"

After some more pleasantries, the rest of the crowd and the other dancing girls left, leaving just the leader of the dance group. When she saw Kohaku, she gulped.

"Um...you're our senpai, right?" Kohaku said, unsure of herself. "I'm Kohaku, from the year below. I didn't expect you to be such a great dancer."

"I...I have many talents. That's all." The girl, now shy, said. "...I'm Manami Inoue. Pleased to meet you."

"No way! You're part of the Inoue Bank family?" Akari exclaimed, without thinking. The Inoue Bank Tower was her first foray into the Theio Kosmos, and for a moment, Kohaku panicked that she'd blab. "That place is huge! You must be loaded!"

"...Yes. I suppose so." Manami said, raising an eyebrow.

"Forgive our friend Akari. She's been shopping all day, which can be quite draining." Kei said, dryly. "I'm Kei. I've not had a chance to speak to any of the senpai at Kansei yet, and I wasn't quite expecting to meet one of them like this."

"I'm not comfortable with doing what's expected, to be honest..." Manami said, glumly. She didn't quite seem like the energetic, confident and sassy girl that had been dancing moments ago. "Are you in Kansei too?"

"Nope! I'm a Chieki girl, and proud!" Natsumi said, proud.

"I see. Well, it's nice to meet you. Unfortunately, I really need to get going. I'll see you at school, I suppose." Manami said, briskly walking away.

Kohaku didn't quite understand. She seemed so alive when she was dancing in perfect beat to the music. Did she not want her status as a dancer known to the rest of the student body? She was amazing, the music-lover thought. Someone with that kind of talent should show it for the whole world, just like Aika Makino.

"Hmm..." Kei said. "Manami-senpai seems like a quiet girl."

"I've never really heard her speak before, but..." Akari began. "Her grades are the highest Kansei have ever seen, apparently. I'm not even sure you and Shintaro could beat her."

"It's not a competition...Kansei should be proud to have such gifted students. And yes, that included you, Akari-chan."

"You think so?" Akari said, surprised. "You do realise earlier, I thought that shop assistant was a mannequin?"

"She was as lifeless as one, anyway." Kei said, amused. "But I think you and Kohaku are both a credit to Kansei. Likewise, I'm sure Chieki is lucky to have Natsumi and her brother."

"You know just how to warm a girl's heart!" Natsumi said. "Alright, I'll get us all some ice cream. It's pretty warm for May, you know."

Sounds good to me. I wonder how the boys are doing? Shintaro and Masato were hanging out in Mizuho, and Noburo...well, I'm sure he's doing just fine. He'll probably tell us all about it soon, no doubt.

|Asakita – Eien Kofuku Theme Park – Stellar Wheel|19:30 pm|

Earlier that day, Noburo sent Teruko a simple text message, to meet him here in Asakita. He stood there for some time, and wondered if perhaps she'd come at all. Then, he finally saw her walking towards him, in her sparkly white t-shirt and black skirt. He had dressed nicely for the occasion too, in a new white shirt and black trousers.

They didn't talk, but she smiled – albeit briefly – as she grabbed his hand, and they walked into the park. Before long, they reached the venue's most romantic ride, the Stellar Wheel. Weirdly, it seemed like no one else was using it, so they had it all to themselves.

"I'm glad you came with me, Teruko-chan." Noburo said. "I couldn't leave things the way they are."

"No, I..." Teruko began, as the ride finally became to ascend. "I'm sorry for what happened. Whatever's going on with you, I don't want to lose you. It took me a while to realise it, though."

As they began to rise higher and higher, they felt the breeze touch them both. Teruko's beautiful hair swayed, almost hypnotically. If only he could just gaze into her eyes for the whole evening, Noburo thought. Esepcially with the clear night sky showing the stars.

"Do you know how many years it takes for each star to shine enough to be visible from the Earth?" Teruko suddenly said. "...It's longer than a thousand of our lifetimes. Yet still, once they do, we never forget them."

"Yeah. The stars are so beautiful, especially from up here. And this is one of the best places to enjoy them." Noburo said. "Teruko, there's something I need to tell you."

"About the Gnosis, right?" Teruko asked.

"What? Y-Yeah..." Noburo, slightly bewildered. Suddenly, she reached into her pink handbag, to pull out none other than a Gnosis. And it was black. "Oh my god! How?"

"Well..." Teruko said. "It was in my shoe locker this morning at school. No one puts anything in my locker, so I have no idea who did it. Noburo, what are these phones? They're connected to Bythos, aren't they?"

"...Bythos have them, yes. But not just them. The group opposing them use them too. Leading them is my dad. Shigeru." Noburo began. "...It's a crazy story, but it's all true. I'm helping the others – our senpai in Kansei, and the two in Chieki – fight Bythos."

"Fight...?!" Teruko said, aghast. "How the hell did you get involved with this?"

And so Noburo finally poured his heart out, going into how he met Kaii in the cinema, and his painful reunion with his biological father. Rather than side with Toki, he had used his Persona to fight back, and since then, had been on Shigeru's team. Or rather, under Kei's guidance.

"I'm still new to having a Persona, but I know I can handle it. I've beaten every enemy I've come across. Bythos act all high and mighty, but in their quest for the supposed truth, they're ruining our city's prosperity. They even killed Mayura and the Chief of Police." Noburo said. The ride seemed to have frozen in time, as he spoke. It was as if he and Teruko were the only two people in the city. "I can't just run away and leave the fighting to everyone else. We're all valuable members of our group."

"Noburo, I..." Teruko said. "I understand. Why you couldn't tell me any of this. You didn't want me worrying about you, right? But...even if you weren't part of some secret government group with supernatural abilities, I still worry about you. When I heard Death By Moonlight could never be on stage again...yes, I felt awful for that poor woman Yuchi murdered. But I felt terrible about you, too. Something you put your heart and soul into, only to disappear forever..."

"If you have a Gnosis..." Noburo said, gazing at the phone in her hand. "Maybe you don't have to worry so much. Yours isn't red or blue like the weak ones. Yours is already pure black. Like mine and the others. You can be a natural Persona user!"

"I can? But...I've never felt like I had any power like that." Teruko said. "Neither did any of you guys, though. If I were to come with you, then maybe, just maybe, I can awaken this Persona thing. I'll be the best out of all the girls! I'll make sure no one hurts you. And that's a promise!"

"But Teruko, are you sure you want to do this?" Noburo said. "Fighting Bythos isn't a hobby, even if most of our fighting is after school. Nisa Liat is a lot more powerful than you realise."

"Weren't you listening? I promised!" Teruko said, her tearful eyes twinkling with devotion, more than any of the stars above them. "...I'll be nicer to the other girls, okay? The other guys too."

"You know that you're the only girl I love, don't you? They understand that." Noburo said. "But don't get upset. There are some special moments that are just between us. Like this. There's noone else I wanted to come with me tonight...but you, Teruko-chan. You shine brighter than the entire galaxy."

Teruko reached forward with her hands, tightly holding Noburo's. They were now as one, and no more words needed to be said. Slowly, they moved in closer, and their lips embraced. Both shut their eyes, lost in each other's warmth and souls.

Thank you, Teruko. With you by my side, I know Bythos will fall. Even if we must fight Toki and my brother.

"...Part of me wants this ride to stay up here forever." Teruko said, giggling. "A world reaching for the stars, with just you and me. That's what I'd like."

"That'd be perfect." Noburo said. "Some day, when we're done with school, college, etc...we'll have all the time in the world together."

"I know." Teruko said. "There's no better moment. Noburo. Will you..."

"Yes?" Noburo asked, excitedly.

"...Marry me?"

Both were silent, as Noburo sat there, stunned. A marriage proposal? She was only fifteen, like him. It wasn't like her to be this forward. Yet, her love for him was stronger than ever, he knew.

"...Of course I will."

Teruko gasped with joy, wiping her eyes. "Mrs Komatsu. I'd love nothing more. Unless you want to take my name?"

"I don't care what name we use! I'm just..." Noburo said, his heart beating rapidly. "...I'm so happy! We're going to fight Shadows together. We'll take down Nisa Liat, stop her evil scheme, and then one day, after we've finished school, we'll be..."

"I can't wait!" Teruko said. "But you better not tell anyone, okay? Not until the time is right. That means not even your dad can know, or he'll go mad and give you a lecture. To everyone else, we're still just dating. But you and I, we're engaged. I don't need a flashy ring to prove it."

"I'll need to get you one at some point, though. One that shines like you." Noburo said. "...Cheesy, I know."

Finally, the wheel began to return to the surface. As it did, however, Noburo and Teruko began laughing with sheer happiness, and joyously skipped out of the ride, and out of the park.

"Young love, huh?" One of the ride operators said. "Hope it works out for those kids."

However, another witness wasn't quite as enthralled. Rather, he had a look of absolute sadness.

"What's up?" The operator said, to the bearded onlooker.

"Nothing. Just brought back a lot of memories. Of happier times." Toki said.

"Wait a second. Your face reminds me of something. Aren't you -"

"I need to go." Toki said, hurriedly leaving. The operator stared in confusion, and shrugged and went back to his duties.

While Noburo hadn't noticed his father, Toki had heard everything, thanks to Shuten Doji's 'Silent Witness' ability – which enabled it to act as a microphone of sorts, and play audio on the user's Gnosis. Keeping out of sight, the former Black Condor had pretended to be on a call. Spying on his son wasn't something he wanted to make a habit of, but when he heard the news about the play being cancelled, he wanted to see how Noburo was coping.

"...My son's going to be alright." Toki said. "He doesn't need me anymore...neither does Kaii. I guess there's nothing left for me here, huh?"


	24. Feathers of the Condor's Shadow

**|May 8th|Gold Laguna Hotel|16:40 pm|**

The group had been floored by Noburo's new revelation. Teruko had come with him with a Gnosis of her own. Even though she didn't have a Persona quite yet, she still was able to cope with the Theio Kosmos' atmosphere, and clung passionately to her boyfriend's arm. A new Gnosis, so soon after Akari and Noburo obtained theirs.

"...How do you children keep getting these phones?" Hiroyuki asked, befuddled.

"That's what I want to know." Shigeru said, steely as ever. "Teruko. Do you understand the gravity of this situation? We are battling a group that seeks to undermine our city's government. Their actions are causing unrest, no matter what 'justice' they seem to bring."

"I'm not an idiot, you know!" Teruko snapped, to everyone's shock. Only a fool would talk back this way to a man with Shigeru's stature, Shintaro thought. Not that he could say this out loud. "I know exactly what sort of situation this is. These are real battles. But if I have the potential to help, then I will fight too! Bythos must pay for what they've done!"

"What do you think, Reia?" Netuno asked, drumming his fingers on the sofa. "This girl got what it takes?"

"Her getting a Gnosis seems a little convenient..." Reia muttered, curious. "Perhaps a test battle would help her awaken to her potential."

"...Fine. Hiroyuki, take her to the battle room downstairs. Reia, generate a weak opponent, one that an experienced fighter can fell in one hit." Shigeru ordered. "I just hope this works out for the best."

"It will, dad...I'll look after her when we're fighting for real." Noburo said, happily. "After all, we're..."

"Hmm?" Shigeru asked, raising an eyebrow sharply.

"...really in love. Yeah." Noburo said, blushing.

The battle room, unlike the rest of the hotel, was a plain square room with blue tiled floor and plain white walls, with bright lights overhead. An image of this room appeared on the suite's monitor, and they saw Teruko walk in with Hiroyuki by her side.

"Here we go. Our test elemental Shadows shouldn't give her too much trouble." Reia said, using her homebrew program on her laptop. With it, the Shadow 'Earthys', a being composed of the earth itself, appeared in front of Teruko. Dismayed by its frowning expression, she screamed in terror, running towards the door. However, it was locked for the duration of the trial.

"Help!" Teruko screamed, cowering in fear from the Shadow. Suddenly, her Gnosis lit up, and a strange aurora appeared around her. It wasn't blue, however, nor was it red like those of the Azure or Claret Squads. Instead, it seemed to be translucent, like water. Stunned, she watched, as a figure appeared from the mist. Yet, it too was hard to make out. It seemed vaguely humanoid, but its misty limbs were barely defined. It wielded a blade of some kind, but even that seemed to be transparent.

"What's...going on?" Shintaro asked, anxious.

"Her Persona - it's barely materialising." Novalie said, perplexed. "This has never happened before. Has it?"

"No, it hasn't!" Reia said. "What's causing this to happen? Is it her own psyche that's preventing her Persona from fully awakening? Can she even fight like this?"

"...What the hell are you?" Teruko asked, looking up at her Persona. She suddenly clutched her head in pain. "Oww!"

The Persona, name unknown, disappeared – only to appear right in front of the equally confused Shadow.

" **What on earth _are_  you?**" Earthys uttered, unsure of its opponent. Suddenly, it was cut in two, and disappeared in a burst of black mist.

"The hell was that?!" Masato asked.

"My Gnosis helpfully registered that as '? Blade'." Reia said, frowning. She pushed a button, and the VR Battle sequence ended. "Hiroyuki, Teruko, come back up."

Later, the group were back in the suite. Noburo seemed delighted with how the battle had proceeded, yet no one seemed able to how genuine enthusiasm. Shintaro and Kohaku kept exchanging worried looked, and when they both excused themselves to go the bathroom down the hall, they could finally voice their fears.

"Her Gnosis feels really weird whenever I'm near it." Shintaro said. "You know what I mean?"

"Yes. It's black, sure, but it has a different look somehow. But it's hard to explain." Kohaku said. "...And that Persona of hers doesn't even have a name or Arcana. It's just like it appeared out of nowhere."

"Then what the hell should we do?" Shintaro asked. "We can't let Teruko fight with us. She's too weak. Sure, her Persona killed that Melchom, but not even the soldiers of Bythos are that weak. She might just get herself killed."

"I know. But Noburo's really excited about this. He's besotted with her, you know?" Kohaku said. "...Besides. She's so earnest about this. Nothing else matters to her but helping Noburo."

"There's just something not right about this. And I wish I knew what it was." Shintaro said. "...All we can do is see what happens, right?"

"It looks that way. But we'll do what we can to help those two." Kohaku said. "Teruko might just surprise us, and that Persona of hers might fully manifest. At least, it's more likely than convincing her not every other girl wants to take Noburo away from her."

Shintaro laughed, and the two eventually returned to the suite. Their new ally might be a temperamental one, but her conviction could be the weapon they needed to halt Bythos' conquest.

**|Kansei High School – After School|15:32 pm|**

"That about covers it for today. Keep in mind your mid-terms are coming up shortly." Michiko Suzuki said, shutting down the projector she had been using for the class. The lecture had been covering marine"Of course, being a teacher of Biology, I know of plenty foods that are great for helping your memory. Not that you two will need any."

Shintaro and Kohaku blushed. Although they certainly didn't mind praise from their teachers, it was a bit embarrassing when it was in front of other students, especially Akari.

"Suzuki-senei?" Kei asked, suddenly. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh? Of course. I'll see the rest of you tomorrow." Mrs. Suzuki said. The other students left the room. As they walked outside the room and down the hall, they saw Noburo and Teruko, waiting by the shoe lockers.

"Oh. Good afternoon." Teruko said, curtly.

"Hi guys!" Noburo greeted, cheerfully. "Is Kei not with you?"

"She had to talk to Suzuki-sensei about something. I don't know what, though..." Kohaku said, shrugging. "Things are getting crazy in Tarumi, aren't they?"

"Crazy? That's an understatement. Look at the amount of people rioting outside the theatre! And someone set fire to Yuchi's house!"

"Seriously?!" Akari asked. "I know he's a murdering scumbag, but..."

"It's what I was worried about. People are acting really crazy in Tarumi. It's like what happened in Mizuho last month. Support for Bythos is soaring there. Posters are appearing out of nowhere with their logo, and no matter how many get taken down, someone manages to put more back up. And then there's their website traffic. Their forum is getting tons of members, and the new ones are advocating for Yuchi's execution."

"Even worse, Noburo-kun, is how explicit they are with how they want him to be killed. It's horrifying..." Teruko said, frightened.

"If it's like Mizuho was, then we've got a good chance of getting a new Cognition Core." Kohaku said. "If we can seize it, we can help Tarumi regain some clarity, and avoid falling into ruin."

"Right! And we might as well start today. Let's get the twins involved." Shintaro said, grinning. "And Kei, of course. We can't leave without her."

"As if you'd ever leave me behind."

Shintaro leapt up with fright, and turned around. There, with a mischievous smile, was Kei.

"Hey Kei. What were you talking to Suzuki-sensei about?" Kohaku asked.

"I just had some questions about her lectures. Nothing to worry about." Kei said, yet she avoided eye contact. "Anyway, if we're going to Tarumi, we should tell Komatsu-san and the others."

"Sure...I'll drop my dad a message. C'mon, let's head to Tarumi! Teruko, don't worry. Your Persona will show its true face soon!" Noburo said. "And it'll be just as beautiful as you are!"

_Please tell me that's not how I talk to Celestine._

**|Theio Kosmos – Tarumi|16:32 pm|**

With the increased amount of attention on Tarumi, the number and power of Shadows seemed to have spiked. Fiendish ones such as Orobas and Loa were prowling the streets, and from time to time, Shintaro kept hearing the voices of the real world, baying for Yuchi's blood.

_Die for what you did to Kazuko!_

_Our Kazuko-sama was our goddess!_

_Your soul belongs in hell for all of time!_

"This feels awful...I wish they'd shut up for five minutes!" Teruko said, looking pale. She held onto her Gnosis as tightly as she could, enough for Shintaro to panic it may crack. It seemed resilient, however. Despite her lack of power compared to the others, her Persona, immaterial as it was, was at least able to bring pain to these Shadows.

"Don't worry so much. You're stronger than you think. You and I can do this." Noburo said, arm around her shoulder. She leaned close to him, smiling, but she seemed somewhat faint.

"Let's get to the theatre. The Cognition Core is most likely to be there. Which means Bythos are gonna be congregating, too." Masato said.

"Asami again..." Natsumi muttered, frowning.

The team went forward. When they reached the theatre, they gasped. The entire building was almost pitch black, with ominous blood red colouring where once there had been bright, hopeful hues. The front path seemed to be splattered in blood. However, what Noburo saw to his right disturbed him even more.

"What? What is it?!" Akari asked, when he pointed in fear.

"That's...the car!" Noburo said, eyes wide with shock.

In the middle of what had once been lush grass was a huge icy pond. On top of the pond was a rusted, aged red car, that had skidded onto the pond. Within seconds, however, the ice cracked, and the car plunged into the freezing cold water.

Noburo fainted at the sight of it, much to Teruko's abject horror. She desperately tried to revive him, and the others came over, calling for him. Eventually, however, he opened his eyes, and colour returned to his face.

"...What just happened?" Noburo asked. "Why was that there?"

"It was an illusion, Noburo..." Kei said. "Perhaps more than that. A memory that you've never been able to forget. You and Toki."

"Toki...?" Noburo asked. "Is he here?!" He got back to his feet, just in time to see Shigeru and the other four arrive. "Dad! Everyone!"

"I'm sorry, we tried to get here first, but the density of Shadows here was difficult to get through." Novalie said. "...This theatre looks horrible."

"I dunno. Black and red isn't a bad look..." Reia said. "Maybe I need to move away from all this purple vibe sometime."

"What's going on here, then?" Hiroyuki asked. "I don't see anyone else outside. Not even any Bythos soldiers."

"We should go in." Kei said. "I suspect one of our Aeon Admin 'friends' is in there."

"Right. If it's...him, then I'm going to finish what we started last time." Shigeru said, cracking his knuckles. Noburo looked on, dismayed, but followed the party regardless.

**|Kyutai Playhouse - Foyer|16:44 pm|**

The foyer was just as bizarrely warped as it had been outside. Dark reds and black had replaced the pleasing colours the building usually had. All the posters had vanished, and in their place were bizarre images Shintaro could barely comprehend. One of them, however, seemed to be a pictograph of a car falling headfirst into a lake.

"...I don't know what to do. We can't get any further than this."

Standing by one of the pillars, which now seemed to have a transparent red fire swirling around it, were the Azure Squad, each one looking apprehensive.

"Oh! A-Aritomo...!" Fumika said, hiding behind her leader.

"What's going on here?" Kei asked.

"Well...um..." Aritomo mumbled, while Konomi held Fumika's trembling hand.

"You can tell us." Kei asked, gently. "Please."

"Okay. It's...well, Toki. You know him. Of course you do." Aritomo said, looking at Noburo. "We saw that Tarumi was getting really messed up, so we wanted to investigate. That was when we saw Toki go inside here. The minute he did, the entire place became like this."

"We ran after him..." Konomi said. "But he told us to go away. He said something like he didn't want to upset anyone anymore. Neither of us understand what that means. We knew he had some bad personal issues, but asking him about it didn't seem wise."

"He's never looked so scary before..." Fumika said, shaking. "All the doors we've tried are locked. I don't know what to do..."

"Curse that Hayashi!" Shigeru snapped, causing Fumika to cower in fright. "Whatever he's planning right now, I'm going to put a stop to it, immediately."

Just as he said this, the building shook, and Masato clung to Shintaro for protection – much to the bookworm's surprise. One of the chandeliers above started to shake, and eventually fell with a heavy crash, its glass pieces scattering all over the lobby. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but everyone's heart was racing.

"What was that?!" Natsumi asked.

"There's something here..." Akari said. "Something that's affecting the stability of this building. Both in terms of the architecture and the emotions around it. The longer we leave it like this, the more likely the Cognition Core will appear. If Bythos get their hands on it, they have Tarumi under their control.

"Then we must go forth." Hiroyuki said, calmly. "If Toki's further ahead, he might seize the core for himself."

"...Or it might seize  _him_." Reia said, cautiously.

"Let's go already!" Noburo said.

"You three..." Kei said, to the Azure Squad, while the others went forward. "Please, don't get involved. Wait here. I'll make sure Toki's safe."

"...Thank you. Everyone, we'll stand guard here." Aritomo said. Kei soon rejoined her allies. However, the building had changed more than Shintaro had expected...

**|Kyutai Playhouse - Grand Stage|16:45 pm|**

The group made their way through the corridors, slaughtering whatever Shadows came their way. Kei did gain two new Personas, however, the X and A. The rooms were a strange mix – some where rather ostentatious dressing rooms or other facilities the theatre boasted, while others were strangely dark, featureless areas with bizarre blood-red sigils.

Teruko didn't seem to be enjoying her time as a Persona user, either. Each Shadow she faced freaked her out, as if it was the first time she had ever seen one. Even the more pleasant looking ones, such as Apsaras, managed to appal her. And when they were in the darker parts of their path to the main hall, her power seemed even weaker than before.

"Are you...alright?" Noburo asked. "Teruko-chan, we can stop to -"

"No, we can't! Not when that oaf Toki is trying to destroy all of Tarumi! If he does that...it'll ruin everything we love about this place. Tarumi is our place, Noburo-kun. I'm not going to let him take it away from us!"

Finally, after battling through the various strange rooms, they finally reached the many rows of seats. They heard Toki speaking, rather curtly. Yet the person he was talking to sounded oddly like his own voice.

"Toki Hayashi, you bastard! What are you doing here?!"

On the stage, there were two versions of Toki. One was in the 'ninja' type clothes he had via Bythos. The other, however, was in full Black Condor regalia from Featherman, with his helmet in his hands. Neither seemed to have heard Shigeru's cry, however.

"...Stop it. I don't want to see my life anymore!" Toki yelled, tears in his eyes. Somehow, he didn't seem aware of the others who had appeared.

"Wow. How many dads do you have, Noburo?" Masato asked, confused.

The other Toki laughed wickedly. His face seemed younger and fuller. His eyes, however, were a glowing orange.

"C'mon. Don't be like that. My life is such a sad story! It'd make a great stage production. In this world, we can have as many special effects as we fucking want! And no one has to tell me off for getting drunk on set. We don't even need any stuntmen, either! We can do all our own moves without anyone having to die."

"I said stop, okay? I know I've fucked up. Kaii's gone forever...and Noburo will never speak to me again."

"I'm right here!" Noburo cried out.

"Ah, there you are! My little baby boy...but not so little now, huh? You're taller than most of your teachers, I bet! And you've got a gorgeous girl on your arms. She's one for keeps, huh?" The other Toki said.

"Answer me, you piece of shit. Why are there two of you?" Shigeru demanded.

"I thought you government types were supposed to be smart?" 'Other' Toki said, cackling. "You sure you're that different from me? No wonder Kaiyo married you."

"What did you just say?!" Shigeru screamed, making the others back away.

"Ah, shut up for five seconds. Thing is...I'm the 'other' Toki. The real self. A 'Shadow'. But for a few months, he had me under control. He seemed to understand his feelings. I was called Shuten Doji at that point."

"...His Persona? You?!" Netuno asked. "That's crazy!"

"Not as crazy as your music, dipshit." Shadow Toki said. "Indeed. A Persona and a Shadow are one and the same. It just takes a strong will to control your Shadow, and turn that into a Persona you can accept is part of you. Losing that will, however, makes it revert. Like me..."

"What the hell -"

There was a flash of red light, and everyone was suddenly in the front row. Shintaro gasped. Between Masato and Kohaku, he saw a grimy looking kitchen, with rusty looking appliances. Cowering behind a table was a young boy, about nine, with bruises all over his arms. His clothes were tattered and stained. The two adults standing over him, with grim looks over their faces, didn't look much cleaner either. Before long, they started beating him, ignoring his cries for help.

"This...these are Toki's parents?!" Masato asked out loud.

"This can't be real..." Reia said, shocked. Novalie flinched, covering her eyes.

"...Of course it isn't. It's just an illusion to make us feel pity for the man." Shigeru scoffed. Noburo, shaking his head, looked up at his father's adult self, gazing in horror at his child self.

"Dad...is this really what you had to go through?" Noburo asked, shocked. "...Dad?"

"I..." Toki said, looking at his Shadow self. He nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"That's right. My parents were scum. I still got a scar on the back of my arm from my old man's cigar. They didn't give a shit if I didn't come home from school. I lost count of the times I ran away from home, and they didn't call the police once. Too busy getting high, drunk, or both."

"...Why did they even do that to you?!" Noburo asked, indignantly. "Why?!"

"God knows. They were both bastards. Guess it runs in the family...be glad you take after your mother more than me." Shadow Toki said, shaking his fists. "I left the house at 17 with all my belongings. I didn't come back, didn't get in touch, nothing. I found a friend that let me stay with them. And I never heard from them again, not even when they were in hospital on their deathbeds..."

"I can't believe it. People like that in Shinshuto...?!" Akari said tearfully, in disbelief.

"Damn you! I never heard either of you say 'I love you'!" Shadow Toki screamed at the two dishevelled adults. The illusionary figures of his parents vanished in a puff of smoke, as did the run-down kitchen. "...I knew that if I ever had a kid, I'd never let him end up like me. He'd want to come home. I'd tell him I loved him every single day, even if he got sick of it. I just wanted to be part of a family that cared about each other..."

"...That's so sad." Novalie said, tearfully.

"Then I got spotted by some talent scout. They saw me doing some exercises in the park one day, and thought I'd be good on some new show. One thing lead to another, and I ended up cast as Black Condor in Featherman. Soon after that, I met Reiko. She was beautiful, you know, but more than that, she was so sweet, she never had a bad word to say about anyone. I loved coming home to see her, cook something for her, doing whatever she wanted to do. Maybe, if I'd been able to control myself, she would have stayed with me. Then I'd have been able to see Kaii as a baby. That...would have been the best thing ever."

The stage changed to another home, a far cleaner one, but in the kitchen there were a disturbingly high amount of alcoholic bottles. There, Shintaro saw a woman that indeed had a deep beauty to her, with her curls of light brown hair and her lilac dress. Storming through the door was Toki, aged 28 years old. Yet he was very clearly inebriated, and in a very dark mood. It didn't take long for him to lose his temper, and fling a huge bottle of wine at the wall. Reiko gasped, and watched in horror as Toki stormed upstairs.

" _Toki...won't you listen to what I have to tell you? When are you going to realise you have a problem? I want to help you, but...there's someone else that needs help too."_

"Reiko..." Toki said, reaching out to her. "Reiko! Don't go! Kaii...he's my little boy too!" However, she faded away, and he gasped with deep sorrow.

"Kaii ended up with me as his dad. And he never even knew until he was twenty. Two decades we could have spent together, all gone..." Shadow Toki said. "I would have done anything he wanted with him. He probably played soccer. I'd have bought him all the dogs from the pound..."

"Kohaku, should we really let this continue?" Shintaro asked.

"Can we even stop this?" Kohaku asked, despondent. "This is so cruel..."

"It's not over yet. After Reiko, I met Kaiyo. I thought I had known true love before, but when she came around, I couldn't stop thinking about here. Like this..."

The scene changed again to the Featherman stage, and Shintaro actually vaguely recalled the set. Toki, in his Black Condor getup, took off his helmet, and gave everyone a huge hug. He seemed much happier than the previous memory. The whole cast was laughing together, and the crew seemed to join in their happiness too. In fact, one of their female members walked up closer, shyly.

" _Huh?"_ The memory Toki asked, walking closer.  _"You alright, beautiful?"_

" _W-What? Oh, I'm alright, I just wanted to say...that was amazing, your performance."_ The one said. She had hair almost the same shade as Reiko's, but she was a meek looking young lady, dressed in a white shirt and black jeans. Toki smiled, and gave her his hand to shake.

" _Thanks. Couldn't have done it without you guys. You're all pretty amazing behind the scenes. What's your name? Sorry, I should have asked before, but -"_

" _It's Kaiyo Kanai. Um...are you free tonight? If you don't have any plans, there's a great new French restaurant in Hiyashi. Would you like to come with me?"_

The past Toki was stunned. His face was just as red as hers. But eventually, his smile returned.

" _I'd love to! You're pretty gorgeous, by the way. Anyone ever tell you that?"_ He asked, with a playful lilt to his voice.

" _Um...no, not until now. But...thank you. Shall I see you at seven o'clock? It's round the corner from..."_

The two made their plans, before she had to leave quickly with the rest of her team to pack up their gear. When she was gone, Toki literally jumped for joy, whooping loudly. His modern self, however, looked on with a solemn expression, sighing deeply.

"So that's mum when she was young..." Noburo said, amazed.

"Kaiyo...I'm so sorry, I..." Toki said. "...I still..."

"Our first date was amazing, even if I hated the food. French stuff never agreed with me, no matter how pretty it looked. But Kaiyo and I were in love, more than me and Reiko were. Before long, we were married, and our son was born. Our beautiful Noburo... I finally had the chance to prove I was a better man than my father. My son wouldn't be left in squalor. With the money I was making from Featherman, I'd be able to provide for him even after I retired. Then came that accident..."

The stage changed to what appeared to be a top secret base from Featherman, with the camera crew setting up. Toki seemed somewhat inebriated during filming, which had left the others of his team rather concerned, but they continued regardless. Unfortunately, during one highly risky shoot, Toki stumbled quite badly against a ladder – one a stunt double was still climbing.

Shintaro flinched, knowing what was to come next. The cast and crew were simply too late – the stuntman's ladder fell to the ground with a huge thud. All Shintaro could hear was screaming, an ambulance, and he could distinctly smell alcohol. It was like the time his father came home from a work night out, only far more potent.

"...Oh my god." Akari said.

"Can't you stop this show?!" Novalie screamed at Toki.

"I...I can't. I can't stop...ruining my life..."

"Things after that got worse. Drinking, fights at home...and then I did something I never thought I'd end up doing. I terrified the living daylights out of my little boy...the one bright spot I still had." Shadow Toki said. "Kaiyo saw sense at last. She took Noburo away as far as she could. But...I didn't want to lose him. I found out where she was going – a friend's house. I broke in, snuck him out, and put him in the old car. I didn't have a plan. I just wanted to drive as fast as I could, somewhere far away..."

The 'stage' now was a car racing down a road outside the city limits, with other cars honking at him. Toki was driving incredibly over the limit – both speed and alcohol – and ignoring the sounds of his crying son.

" _Daddy, I wanna go home! Why are you going so fast? I'm scared!"_ The young Noburo wailed. It was odd seeing him so small, and so utterly petrified.  _"DADDY! WHERE'S MOMMY?"_

" _Will you just fucking shut up for one moment?! We're gonna be okay, you and me. Against the world! Yeah, we don't need anyone else trying to tell us what we can or can't do. From now on, I make the rules! Kaiyo can't keep me from seeing you...she can see what it feels like to be cut off from her son! Yeah!"_

There was a sudden turn, however, and the car drove off the road and through grass, leaving huge muddy skid marks through the field. Then there was an icy pond, one that Noburo had come to fear. Before Toki could stop, the car ended up on the hard ice, spinning and skidding to an abrupt halt. Everything was quiet, yet there was a heavy snow.

Then, the car sank, and Shintaro could barely see a five year old boy banging on the frosty windows, while his father remained unconscious, unable to rescue either himself or his son.

"Stop!" Toki screamed in unison with Noburo, gazing in horror at the scene. Shivering, he fell to his knees, banging his fist against the hard wooden floor. "Stop..."

"Stop, huh...?" Shadow Toki said, curious. "Yes. That's what I want! For all of this bullshit to just end. Think about it. No matter what I try and achieve, no matter what sort of 'happy ending' I think I've got, it all goes to shit sooner or later! Kaii, the son I never knew I had...he was right by our side, but now he's gone. Noburo, the son I've been dreaming about meeting again for so long...he doesn't need me anymore. Maybe he never did!"

"I know..." Toki said. "I couldn't stop Kaii from running away. And Noburo nearly died because of me. I thought joining Bythos would let me start all over again, but..."

"It's alright. It's just another 'new start, new me' that didn't go to plan, like all my others. But now I've got a way to end that damn vicious cycle." Shadow Toki said, with a dour look. He raised his hands, and one of Toki's swords appeared in his hand.

"What...?" Toki murmured, gazing at his sharp blade.

"When you live the life I have, it's pretty painful just getting out of bed in the morning. You wonder if you'll ever know what it means to smile again." Shadow Toki said. He pointed at the blade, nodding. "You made your name by using fake swords on TV to defeat whatever enemy there was that week, remember? But now you yourself at the enemy. And that sword is real. Defeat yourself. The honorable way."

Shintaro gasped, his heart skipping a beat. Toki was actually raising his sword, and held it very close to his neck.

"That's the way. With this, both of us can finally disappear, and stop ruining our boys' lives. No one will ever have to see any of us again. Bythos can easily replace us, anyway. No, do it!"

"NO!"

Noburo's scream surprised both of them, and suddenly, Aengus appeared – grabbing the blade of Toki's sword with his bare hand. With some incredible force, the blade shattered, and Toki let go.

"...Noburo?"

"You can't!" Noburo yelled. "Don't...don't do it!"

"What the hell, Noburo?!" Shadow Toki bellowed. "Isn't this what you wanted ever since you were told what happened?"

Noburo shook his head, his eyes flooding with tears.

"No...I never wanted this at all! This has gone too far...!"

"You're...defending this man?" Shigeru asked, genuinely shocked.

"Of course I am! I..." Noburo said, sadly. "He's still my dad!"

"...It's too late for me." Shadow Toki said, grinning wickedly. His body started to tremble, and with a spurt of 'blood', his body changed into a dark oni like being. It was similar to Shuten Doji, only the mask and face more closely resembled Toki, and the swords seemed to be fused into his arms, and far sharper and cruder.

"Argh!" Shintaro gasped. Emerging from the seats were a series of strange robotic birds with evil-looking red eyes. "What are those?!"

"The Avian Armada, an enemy army from years ago..." Masato said. "...Dammit. Some of us need to stop them from reaching the stage. Kei, it's up to you again!"

"Alright..." Kei said. "Noburo! I'm on your side. No matter what Teruko says, I'm not letting Toki die!"

"Thank you, Kei..." Noburo said, drawing his swords. "Dad..."

"...I'll do my best to stop these forces from interfering." Shigeru said. He looked on, seriously. "Don't worry about me. These enemies aren't going to get even one step closer. I guarantee it."

Kei and Noburo were joined by Shintaro and Akari. The others had decided to fend off the horde of bird robots, who while goofy as they had appeared on the TV show, would be a nuisance if left to their own devices.

"Teruko, are you okay? If you want to sit this one out -"

"Shut up, Kei! I won't leave Noburo to fight without me!" Teruko snarled. She grabbed her sword, and confidently held her Gnosis aloft. It might have a weak Persona, one that was formless like water, but her sheer willpower was strong.

"You're not gonna change me! For a life of sin, you need absolute punishment! But I can't destroy myself. You know what you have to do, right? I am you, after all. If you won't kill me, I'll kill you. Without one, the other can't exist! Then everything will finally be alright."

"No it won't. You won't have your way." Noburo said, coldly. "If I have to bring you down by force, I will!"

Aengus appeared, blasting the strong shadow with the blessed light of Kouha. It's dazzling flash was followed by some nimble swordplay, Noburo dashing in and out with his twin blades.

"Uzume!"

A Psi hit the Shadow as well, it's psychic energy reverberating around the theatre. Sounds of battle could be heard throughout the theatre, but for now, Kei and her team were focused on taking down this foe.

"Let me try!" Shintaro cried out. "Garula!"

Amazed by his own power, a mighty gust of wind flew from Ogma, crashing into the fearsome oni-like beast. It collapsed with a heavy thud, tearing through the famous red curtain.

"You kids are pretty tough!" Shadow Toki said. He disappeared in a flash – and reappeared in front of Shintaro, slashing him brutally. His blades were almost completely red as they flew at him, and each successive swing was progressively more violent.

"Ugh..." Shintaro said. He tried to stab at the Shadow, only for him to leap back with a hearty laugh. However, Akari wasn't as amused.

"Haven't you caused us enough pain already?!" She shouted. "Stop this fighting! Return to being a Persona!"

"You stupid girl! Didn't you understand anything? As long as I'm rejected, I can't be a Persona. Your Epona would be the same if you lost sight of yourself!" Shadow Toki said. "Just let it all end for me!"

"...Sorry, but there's no way Noburo would want that. Kaii too!" Akari said. "Epona! Soul Blade!"

Spiritual purple flames appeared, and Epona configured them into a grand lavender blade. With a flick of her wrist, it flew at Shadow Toki, striking him heavily with extremely potent psychic energy. The blade disappeared with the strike, and Akari added two swift tonfa hits to add to the pain.

"Not bad, I guess..." Teruko said, nervous. She tried to swing her sword, but missed – and was hit straight onto the floor. "Oww! You jerk! If you want to die that badly, don't try and take us with you!"

"I can't stop..." Shadow Toki, eyes glowing vividly.

_What does he mean? Wait, is the Cognition Core of Tarumi affecting him in some way?_

"Then take this!"

Teruko's Persona, still ethereal, appeared. Shadow Toki simply blinked, but was knocked away by a powerful, almost invisible, flash of energy. The Gnosis could only describe this attack as '?'. It didn't seem to have any actual affinity, either. What this attack was, Shintaro had no idea.

"You're all so strong...but I'm still the master here! You've got a long way to go to reach my strength! Nakishigure!"

As Shuten Doji had once down, the Shadow Toki flew in front of Kei, and stabbed at her rapidly with his dreaded blades. Despite the agonising pain, she countered with her own sword, and via her new Persona Archangel, was able to imbue it with the brilliance of blessed light.

"Argh! You...you're going to pay for that, girly!" Shadow Toki said.

"And you're going to pay for calling me girly." Kei said, smug.

_To be honest, I'm more scared of you than Toki..._

"Descend! Archangel!"

Kei had swapped out her regular Angel for an armoured, sword-wielding Archangel. It's steely expression appeared to be aggravating for Toki's Shadow self, enough for him to charge at her. But the light of Kouga stopped him in his tracks, sending him to his knees.

"His defences are down! Let's get him!" Akari said.

"Right!" Noburo said, swords ready. "If it helps him return to normal..."

The group advanced, attacking with their weapons. Teruko gripped her sword awkwardly, without finesse or power, and thus she lacked the intensity of her allies. Even so, she was clearly hurting her opponent, who eventually roared and jumped back to his feet, causing the entire theatre to tremble.

"You're all pissing me off so damn much!" Shadow Toki yelled. "There's nothing I can do to make things better. I'm nearly fifty years old, you know. Five decades of constantly screwing up and making life worse for everyone that means anything to me!"

"Haven't you learned anything from all your troubles?" Shintaro asked, without anger. Despite his previous ordeal, he felt something in him. Pity, and perhaps sorrow. "You've struggled with life for this long. There must be something you've gained through all your experiences that keeps you going."

Shadow Toki sighed, as the real one looked on, tearfully. "You're...a soft lad, aren't you? I wish there was some way I could find hope like you can. But right now, it's too late! I can't go back to being Black Condor anymore. In this world, though, I can pull off the old tricks. Watch! Kusanagi!"

Shintaro gasped. This was an attack he hadn't seen Toki pull off before. He slashed in a cross formation, the red flash from the swings lingering in the air – then attacking Shintaro a third time. Wincing from the sharp attacks, the bookish boy almost collapsed. In anger, he saw a strange energy build up in his opponent, fortifying him.

"Dammit!" Akari explained. "Making him harder to take down. This is going to take even longer!"

"Quit whining, you baby! I can help out!" Teruko cried. "...It's okay. Stay calm. I can do this. This is...Tarunda!"

Shadow Toki gulped – his swords seemed to have a duller edge now, thanks to the inhibitive spell he was under. Even so, he went in for the kill, utilising both blades and the bloody horns of his oni mask – only for Akari to roll away, narrowly avoiding a gory wound.

"That was scary..." She said, shuddering. "You'll never beat me by just swinging those creepy swords around. You're gonna have to use your brain! Like me-"

"Just attack him, Akari." Noburo said, stony faced.

"Aww, you're no fun. Epona!"

Her Persona had grown even more powerful, and managed to cast a stronger psychic spell of Psio. Shadow Toki groaned in pain, and there was a sudden sharp blast of jade wind in his direction. He couldn't quite dodge it – or the rapier stab from behind.

"Toki...both of you. Can't you see how pointless it is to just give up like that? Even after you lost custody of your son, you kept on going." Shintaro said. "You're always going to be Noburo's dad, no matter what happens. Isn't that what kept you going for all these years?"

"Kid, forget it. You aren't going to change my mind. I wanted to see my boy...I did! But there was no way I could just turn up, after what I did to him. Nisa Liat promised me she could help me undo my mistakes, but...in this very place, Noburo told me exactly what I needed to hear. That he doesn't need me anymore. That it's Shigeru who's his real father. I don't need to even be here! Can't you see that?!"

His entire body seemed to be glowing a deep red, and the theatre seemed even more lurid than it had a moment ago. Shintaro wondered – was this really how Toki felt? Or was the Cognition Core, even before it had started to manifest, causing this?

"Shintaro-senpai." Noburo said. "We're going to have to fight him. Words aren't enough to heal his broken heart."

"What about your own?" Shintaro asked, sadly.

"This...is for the both of us." Noburo said. "If there's no other way to end this, I'll have to beat my father. Aengus! Lion's Blade!"

Shadow Toki's swords clashed with the gilded Persona's, only for the deity's to break free and slash through the oni, like a lion's fangs. Warfare had erupted throughout the entire theatre, it seemed, as Shintaro saw an exploding robot bird land to his left.

"Shintaro! There's no end to these things..." Kohaku said, panting for breath. She had just cleaved a bird robot in two with her naginata, and another had been smothered via rocks.

"You've got to stop Toki..." Natsumi said. "Only then can we stop this flock of bots for good!" She dodged several eye beams at once, and with Brigidi's flames, she incinerated two more.

"Don't worry, we can hold out for a bit more." Masato said. "Hiyah!" He swung his bat at an advancing bird, hitting it straight towards one of the upper viewing balconies – causing it to exploded in a puff of black smoke.

"...Let's redouble our efforts." Kei said. "Failure is not an option. We have to help Toki find peace. Even if it is through battle. It's sad, but...we mustn't give up."

**|Kyutai Playhouse - Outside|17:10 pm|**

"...Dammit! It's already started?!"

Desperately running throughout the roads of Tarumi, a brown haired young man panted for breath, his blue thick coat flapping through the wind. It seemed everywhere he went, there was a new Shadow to punch out. But no matter how irritating it was to be beset by Cait Sith & Cu Sith, and especially the beguiling Leanan Sidhe, he would persevere.

"I've got to find him! I have to! Get out of my way, you dumb Shadows -"

He gasped. The theatre had completely changed to a dark and red ominous den of woe. Around him, he saw other Bythos soldiers, ones outside the Squads, in plain black outfits. All of them seemed to be clutching their heads in deep pain, however, and some of them were lying on the ground, in deep agony.

"Dammit!" The man yelled. "...Toki, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said all of those stupid things to you! Please, still be there...don't make it too late to apologise! Please!"

He forced the doors open, and gasped. There, incredibly weakened, were the Azure Squad, facing a multicoloured Greek god of wine and theatre. Dionysus himself had appeared, summoned by the sheer volume of energy this place was gathering. He tossed aside an empty wine bottle, which landed dangerously close to Fumika.

"...Kaii?!" She exclaimed, trying to raise herself up from the floor.

"Please...stop this Shadow!" Konomi pleaded, weakly.

" **Such feeble opponents. Perhaps that strapping young lad over there will be more entertaining."**

"What the hell are you doing to my Squad?!" Kaii demanded. "And what's going on in there?"

" **Some sort of family matter, I think. Something to do with a washed-up retired actor and his estranged son. I only came here to have a look, but then these three were screeching at me to leave."**

"No..." Kaii said. "I have to get in there!"

" **Not so fast. Aren't you that dim-witted brawler from Bythos? You were supposed to have run off somewhere. Couldn't bring yourself to leave Shinshuto, could you? With a show like the one here, I can't blame you. But if you want to get in, you're gonna have to kill me!"**

"Damn you! Get out of my way. My dad's in there!"

Grannus emerged, and Dionysus grinned wickedly. Whatever the outcome, the Shadow would no doubt enjoy the show. Even with  _Death By Moonlight_  cancelled, there was still drama to be had. Especially further in.

**|Kyutai Playhouse - Grand Theatre|17:31 pm|**

All around them, the theatre was slowly becoming ruined by the wreckage of battle. Seats were torn or completely blown to smithereens, and much of the stage was in disrepair. Shadow Toki's blood-coloured swords were fast and deadly, and Kei was struggling to keep up.

"Ugh..." She groaned, leaping aside from her foe's swings. They hit the floorboards hard enough to cause them to cave in, leaving a sizeable hole. "We're not getting very far..."

"Says you! I can handle this guy. Trust me!" Teruko said. "C'mon...Frei!"

A nuclear blast of blue power hit the formidable Shadow, but it didn't seem quite as potent as Teruko had hoped. Swept aside, she landed painfully next to an angry Noburo.

"Oww!" Teruko moaned. "Why is this Persona so lame compared to yours...?"

"It's not lame, Teruko-chan. You just need to believe in yourself." Noburo said. "I'll protect you. Shining Wall!"

Four giant glass walls appeared in front of the team, shimmering slightly. Shadow Toki, laughing wildly, took a leap of faith and stabbed at Kei – only for his sheer strength to be mirrored. Screaming in pain, he stumbled.

"Hold on, Shintaro..." Kei said. With Sarutahiko, she was able to give her friend a boost in the form of a Rakukaja.

"Thanks, Kei. Now then. Persona!" Shintaro, feeling less frail, launched Ogma via the Whirling Blade, carving into the Shadow's tenebrous body. He screamed in agony, and regained his footing. With a flash, he disappeared, only to reappear in front of Shintaro – and hit him with both swords, sending him spinning.

"Shintaro!" Akari yelled. "Don't worry, I've got this. Leigheas Forsa!"

Epona's healing force was always welcome – especially as, for Shintaro, it gave him more confidence in his blade. He deftly dodged his foe's flurry of sword swipes, and countered with some rapid-fire jabs.

"Not bad, I guess..." Teruko said, with a small smile.

"We're used to this by now, kind of." Akari said. "But we're still learning. C'mon, let's put an end to this!"

"Y-Yeah. I want this to stop..." Noburo said. "But not in the way he wants!"

"Son, I..." Shadow Toki grimaced. "You still hate me for that day you nearly drowned, don't you?! Then now is your chance to return the favour!"

"Stop it!" Teruko screamed. Her rage unleashed a Psi, which actually seemed to be quite strong. The Shadow was struggling to fight, rather fatigued from the punishment that had been dealt to him thus far. However, he still wasn't ready to give in.

"It's all over for you!"

A trio of jet black spheres appeared, each with a bright blue oni-like face floating within. They started to cackle evilly, causing the area to become misty. It then twisted suddenly, until all three were on the ceiling. Finally, gravity took over again, and they fell upon the spheres of darkness, fully succumbing to their corrupt power.

"No..." Teruko said, utterly defeated. She dropped her sword, and groaned in pain. "I can't...I'm sorry, Noburo-kun!"

"What do we do?" Shintaro asked.

"...We fight on." Kei said. "Toki Hiyashi may have made some terrible choices in his life, but in spite of the misery they caused him, he continued to survive and fight on, in hope of achieving happiness. Right now, his heart is clouded. But we can help him see the way!"

"You're right!" Shintaro said. His pain was soaring, but Kei's words seemed to inspire him. Noburo and Akari nodded. "Then...Ogma, appear!"

"Ostara, be strong!"

The goddess appeared in the centre of the stage, green petals fluttering around her. Ogma conjured a light breeze, that seemed to grow in intensity. The resulting tornado was glowing a bright emerald, overcoming the oppressive red and black hues the area had been corrupted with.

" **Vernal Breeze**!"

The tornado opened up, spreading its restorative energy throughout the theatre. Akari and Noburo felt their pain fade away. Not only that, the young actor seemed inspired and encouraged. Perhaps with Kei and Shintaro's help, he could face down his father's Shadow, and put a stop to the misery that had plagued his entire life.

"Thanks, you guys!" Akari said, cheerily. "Now its time for some pain! Psio!"

A lurid pulse of psychic power emanated around Shadow Toki, dizzying him - and thus, he was vulnerable. Noburo ran forward, and jumped as high as he could - landing strike after strike on his foe.

"I won't let it end this way!" He cheered. "Aengus! GO!"

The Persona, empowered by the boy's determination itself, charged up with supreme light. Birds could be seen flying around the Celtic god's head, the light shining brightly on them. With great valediction, a powerful Kouga was launched - breaking through the dark oni's form.

"Argh! Dammit...!"

Shadow Toki was done for. He drove his blood red swords into the dark wooden floor, and his body finally reverted to his 'human' form. Panting for breath, he almost toppled over completely, but something in him kept him from collapsing altogether.

"How do you like that?!" Teruko shouted, smugly. "You bastard! All of you Bythos can go to hell!"

"Teruko, stop!" Kohaku cried. The robotic birds had all been torn apart, electric circuits scattered all over the rows of seats. The battle was finally over for both sides, it seemed, and everyone was exhausted from their efforts.

"Why? Look what he's done! He's forced Noburo into another battle..." Teruko said. "Don't you get it? We should have just let him commit sepukku!"

"That is enough, Yoshikawa." Reia demanded. "Let your precious boyfriend handle this. You're doing nothing to help."

"...Toki. No. Dad." Noburo finally said, watching the Shadow of his father painfully look up at him. "It may be true that your life has been one mistake after another. After all you've been through, anyone might stop looking for that light at the end of the tunnel, and retreat into darkness. But..."

He looked to his comrades, who gave him a reassuring nod.

"...If you die here, what good does that do anyone? You'll have no more chances to rebuild your life. Even if you think no one will shed a tear...I'd spend the rest of my life grieving. Forever wondering what life would be like if you were still here. I don't...no, I can't bear that. I don't want to go on without my father."

"Noburo..." Toki finally said, as he stood up, still weary. "I thought you didn't have any fond memories of me...then why-"

"There is one day I remember...but not very well." Noburo said, smiling. "You were carrying me on your shoulders for a parade of some kind. I was crying because I was too small to see them and it hurt my neck to look up, so you lifted me up high. And I remember you and I laughing at some of the weird floats."

"...That's right. I remember!" Toki said, his face finally lighting up. "That was one of the best days we spent together, just you and me. I had just gotten a pay rise, so I wanted to treat you to whatever you wanted. Your mother wasn't so happy when she found out about all the candy we bought, though. But I promised I wouldn't let you eat it all in one go..."

"Don't you see? Even after your own terrible childhood, you made a new life for yourself. You might have lost it, but...humanity is one of life, death, and rebirth. I've thought about this long and hard, but..."

"Noburo, are you going to be alright?" Shintaro asked, worried.

"I'll be alright, Shintaro-senpai." Noburo said. "Dad. I can't...hate you. I did, I really did. But now, when I look at you, I still see the person you lost sight of. Toki Hayashi, the best Black Condor Featherman ever had. And...a loving father, too."

"...Heh. To think I'd end up getting lectured by my own kid." Toki said, trying to hide his tears. He turned to his weakened Shadow form, and walked over. "I've been trying to run from my fuck-ups for so damn long. It's time I stopped. I hated thinking about what I did to Kaiyo and Noburo, but that's never going to go away. But...he's always going to be my boy. The one I knew I'd love forever when I first held him in my arms. If he accepts me for who I am, I need to accept myself."

Shadow Toki, once full of rage, seemed elated. He floated up in the air, shedding its red aurora, and finally flashed with light – transforming back into its former Shuten Doji form. It disappeared in a burst of blue smoke, and Toki stumbled – only for Noburo to catch him.

"Dad!" Noburo exclaimed. "You're..."

"Just a little tired, kid. I just...didn't think my show was gonna get a happy ending." Toki said. "...You're so big now. I don't think you need me propping you up anymore."

"From now on, we're helping each other." Noburo said, excitedly. "You're always going to be my father, for better or worse. But I know now, it's for the better."

"...Thanks, son." Toki said, wrapping his arms around his boy. "I...I'm not going anywhere now. I'm staying here, with you. You and Kaii. We've all got a lot of catching up to do."

"But he left Shinshuto, didn't he?" Akari asked. "He said he wasn't coming back, so -"

Toki shook his head. "Don't worry. He hasn't gone far - I can feel it in my bones. He's got a little brother to come back for, if he doesn't want to see me."

"Dad..."

"Kaii's a good guy. I've seen him with his dog. Sure, he's not got a lot of people friends, but he looks out for all his subordinates in Bythos. He'll be a good big brother." Toki said. "Course, if he gives you the dog biscuits, he's doing it wrong..."

The two of them laughed, and so did the others. The joke itself wasn't the source of laughter, however, rather the atmosphere finally shifting from the dark horror of the past. The place felt brighter now. Yet it seemed rather dark in the back.

"Teruko-chan...thanks for being there for me tonight." Noburo said. "Don't worry. You'll get a chance to wow us with your Persona soon!"

However, Teruko did not share the happy mood of her new teammates. In fact, she didn't seem to be feeling anything, just staring straight into space. Her Gnosis, however, emitted a red glow.

"...Teruko?"

She suddenly screamed, clutching her head in pain, and the eerie smartphone began vibrating intensely.

"Help! Someone, help!"

"Teruko, what's wrong?!" Kohaku asked, running over with Akari.

"NOBURO! WHERE'S NOBURO?!" Teruko screamed at the top of her lungs, her veins popping.

"I'm right here!" Noburo yelled. "What's happening?"

"Let me take a look..." Akari said. She reached for Teruko's Gnosis, only for her hand to be slapped away. "Whoa! I'm just checking -"

"HELP! IT'S COMING TO GET ME! I CAN'T...GET AWAY! NOBURO, SAVE ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

She finally stopped screaming, however, and her head listlessly dropped to one side, her eyes now glazed over. Kohaku and Akari exchanged terrified looks.

"...Oh,  _god_!" Toki yelled. "Her Gnosis! It's...infected!"

"Infected?!" Noburo asked. "With what?"

"Bro, do you think it's..." Natsumi began, looking to her brother. "...him?!"

A red burst of fiery red light emerged from Teruko's body, as she slowly stood up. However, her movements were not natural. Rather, it was as if she was being controlled via puppet strings. A dark sword appeared in her right hand, and just as Toki ran forward, she struck him hard across the chest, sending him flying back to the floor.

"You!" Shintaro said, looking up at a face he had hoped would never return. "What the  _hell_  are you doing here?!"

It was as the Yoshinaga twins had feared. Teruko's Gnosis had become host to the dreadful Shadow that had emerged twice last month. And here it was, as if it had never been slain even once. EX-NIHILO, a being Akari and Noburo had only heard about, brandishing its heavy black blade of nothingness. Disguising itself as an incomplete Persona was another mark of its duplicity...and now, it would descend into depravity.

" **Initialising. Host 'Teruko Yoshikawa' extremely unstable compared to hosts 01 and 03, yet energy levels sustainable. Beginning BATTLE 03 procedure. Annihilation of human subjects must be fulfilled**."


	25. Shining Zero

**|Kyutai Playhouse|18:01 pm|**

_It can't be?! This murdering freak of nature - no, it's purely an abomination. We must destroy it. But it's different this time._

Being near this being sent a shiver down his spine. Dread seemed to overcome Shintaro, as he edged away from both Teruko and her malevolent, heartless host. Whatever it was that had overtaken her will, it had no goodness in it whatsoever.

"Teruko...?" Noburo asked. "Can't you hear me anymore?"

She did not respond. Her head didn't seem to be facing anyone at all, only drooping listlessly, her eyes unblinking. This was even worse than the other possessions Shintaro had seen. In those cases, the victim had been able to fight back somewhat, despite their severe pain. Yet Teruko seemed silent, and fully at the beck and call of her 'Persona'.

She lunged at Noburo with her blade – or rather, the blade flew forward, her body clumsily following. These weren't human movements at all. Had EX-NIHILO completely overtaken the girl?

"Noburo!" Kei cried. Noburo was able to block the attack, but his eyes were full of fear and terror. His girlfriend had become a doll, her will sealed away. Where was the Teruko he knew and loved? Was she anywhere anymore?

"Toki." Shigeru said. "What is this thing...?"

"It's a Shadow called EX-NIHILO that's not like any other we've ever seen. Only Nisa Liat really seems to know what makes it tick, but she ain't too forthcoming with details. We Aeon Admins know as much as you, to be honest." Toki said, in pain, as he sat up. "Sometimes it'll be lurking around, beating up other Shadows. But according to Nisa Liat, it can hide in a Gnosis and drain the energy from its victim. If it appears in the Theio Kosmos, we're supposed to find it and use an app to seal it away in an empty Gnosis, then take it back to the boss..."

"Then someone gave Teruko the EX-NIHILO on purpose?" Novalie asked. "Who would have done that? Why put her through this?!"

"Don't ask me! That thing is evil, even I know that. When Keiya said he was gonna use it, I thought he'd gone crazy. Then he and Asami thought they'd use it as part of their revenge scheme. You know how well that worked out."

Natsumi gulped. It still dwelled heavily on her mind, the previous incarnation of this Shadow. And this time, it was even more of a threat.

Frowning, Shigeru looked at him with contempt. "If I find out you had something to do with this -"

"You'll kill me, right?" Toki said. "I know you don't trust me, but...I didn't. Why would I do that? She's my son's girlfriend..."

_I think he means it. He wouldn't go this far. He knows how important Teruko is to Noburo. There's no way Toki could have planned this. Shigeru, please, let's -_

"We have to stop this monster. Soon, before -"

As if on Kohaku's cue, hordes of Shadows appeared in the seating area, attracted to the dark energy being radiated by the EX-NIHILO. Shintaro gasped, dismayed. They had just survived one grim battle. Must they immediately be plunged into another?

"Let's switch." Shintaro said, to Kohaku. Kei and Noburo were avoiding Teruko's dark sword, but EX-NIHILO's own blade was even more brutal. Masato and Natsumi waded in, and Kohaku joined them.

"Don't worry, Noburo. We can beat this thing again." Kohaku said. "We'll save Teruko!"

"I had to suffer this damn thing too." Masato said. "If someone like me could win against it, your Teruko can too!"

"We're with you all the way, Noburo. Don't give up! We can win!" Natsumi said.

"Okay." Noburo said, swords ready. "...I didn't want to fight you, Teruko-chan. But if this is the only way I can get that monster out of your body, so be it! I promise I'll save you!"

Teruko's sword briefly missed Kei, yet Aengus' Lion's Blade carved into the EX-NIHILO. There was the sound of a lion's roar as the swords came into contact with the demon's body. Then, there was a sound of screaming – as Kohaku leaped up, and sliced at the being's neck.

"You freak! Die!" She yelled. "I'm sick of having to deal with your mess!"

The monster seemed likewise tired of her, as it wordlessly slashed at her – and fired the mysterious unknown pulse of energy it had become known for. Ex Nihilo didn't seem to have any affinity at all, not even 'Almighty'. While its energy was mysterious, it certainly could cause pain.

"Ah!" Kohaku moaned.

"Kohaku-chan!" Natsumi shouted.

"I'm...fine." Kohaku said. "Airmid. We have to win this battle. Magnara!"

The power of earth itself crashed into the EX-NIHILO from below, causing it to stagger into Masato's path. Not willing to waste this opportunity, he swung his bat as hard as he could – actually sending it flying into Natsumi's direction. Quickly spinning her staff, she rapidly it its face and torso, finishing up with a toasty Brigid branded Agilao.

"Nice work, sis!" Masato said. "Now watch this! I'm going to fry this guy!"

Camulus, with a vicious smile, called down the bolt of Zionga, thoroughly electrocuting the translucent body of the EX-NIHILO. Kei smiled, and prepared to swing her sword – only for Teruko to block her attack. The sight of her fighting like a puppet was unsettling, but Kei managed to counter these swings.

"Teruko, I..." Kei said, sadly. "If there was any other way..."

"Focus on the damn EX-NIHILO!" Noburo called out. "Please, don't hurt Teruko-chan!"

"Can't we stop her any other way?" Kohaku asked.

"It's the damn monster we gotta worry about. Focus your attacks on that!" Masato yelled.

"...Kouga!"

Archangel manifested, and cast down blessed light on the dark being – stunning it momentarily. Teruko stopped in her tracks, too, and stood still, staring into space. Not even Noburo seemed able to snap her out of this possession.

"I wasn't like this, was I?" Natsumi asked.

"No...neither was I." Masato said, confused.

"There must be some way to get her back to normal!" Noburo said. "Come on! Kouha!"

Unfortunately, the light of Aengus didn't seem to be enough. Teruko's heart and soul seemed further and further away, no matter how far Noburo went to find her. Yet they still had to face off against this Shadow.

"Geo Fort!"

Airmid enchanted those around her with a transparent green castle, made of purely defensive magic. When Teruko reached Noburo, her sword was blocked by a sudden green wall of dense stone, and the sword broke in half.

"Huh? I don't know this spell. You just learned this one, Kohaku-chan?" Masato asked.

"Well, I felt confident enough to try it out..." Kohaku said, red in the face. "I don't know how long it lasts, but it should protect us a little."

Noburo smiled, but his expression turned to horror when his Geo Fort flashed in front of him – and developed some nasty cracked. The vehement EX-NIHILO was slashing at it mercilessly, its sword far stronger than the one it had fabricated for Teruko.

"Go to hell!" Noburo yelled. The Shadow didn't seem particularly talkative, however it did react – and quite badly – with Brigid's Steel Wheel carved into it, causing 'blood' to flow onto the hardwood floor.

"...What the fuck are you?!" Natsumi shouted. "Do you even have a will of your own?!"

"Of course not! It's a damn parasite, that's all it is. It doesn't even know how much we hate it. It doesn't even know what hate  _is_!" Masato said. "But it's gonna feel this! Camulus!"

A forceful Iron Impact fell upon the EX-NIHILO's head, and its mask cracked, albeit slightly. Dazed, it ended up staggering in front of Kei.

"...DIE!"

Her flurry of strikes was blinding to watch. Somehow, she was moving faster than humanly possible. Whatever she was learning in her Kendo classes, it was helping her quite a bit in this world. Not finished, she summoned a new Persona, Morax – a demon of the Ars Goetia, much like Forneus and Decarabia. It had a humanlike body, but a bull's head. With it's planet-themed staff, it cast Freila upon the EX-NIHILO, creating a light-blue explosion.

"That's the ugliest Persona I've seen you use, Kei." Natsumi remarked.

"Then let's put him in a tutu." Kei replied. "Huh?!"

Psychic energy emanated from their foe, via a Mapsi. Its strange colours were one thing, but its detriment to the human mind was another. Kei glared at her foe, and clashed her sword with its own, sparks flying. Likewise, Noburo was desperately dodging Teruko's sword. Although it felt more like it was wielding her.

_There must be some way to save her. Come on, Kohaku, think! Everyone else is fighting so hard. I've got to keep them all in top condition, until we can get Teruko to safety!_

"Media!"

Airmid's benevolent healing power soothed the bodies of those around. Noburo leaped over his troubled lover's head, evading her sword swipes, and gored the beastly EX-NIHILO in the chest with his own. However, its own dread blade struck him painfully, crashing into a wall.

"Bastard...!"

Although in pain, the actor wasn't about to quit this performance. Aengus manifested, staring down the masked demon, and struck with the Beannaithe Lann. Noburo slowly got up, just as a certain somehow ran over to him. Toki still hadn't quite recovered from the earlier ordeal, however, and painfully clutched his side.

"Noburo, are you..."

"I'm not...giving up!" Noburo said fiercely. "If you can't fight, get out of my way! I need to save her, and kill that demon!"

"But..." Toki muttered, as he fell to his knees. "Dammit! If only I could..."

"Hayashi-san." Kei said, respectfully. "You still need time to recover. Please, let us handle Teruko and the EX-NIHILO. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to help Noburo."

"...Alright. Don't let that thing hurt my son." Toki pleaded. She nodded, and held out her sword. The beast was rapidly spinning, hitting the twins with its huge sword.

"Oww!" Natsumi yelled.

"This sucks..." Masato grimaced.

"Damn you to hell!" Kei yelled. With deep concentration, she called upon another Persona, the ?. Seeking to slow down her dreadful foe, she called for a Sukunda – which took effect rapidly.

Now sluggish, the EX-NIHILO's sword was too slow and telegraphed to be a threat – yet this would not last. The twins had realised this at this point, and nodded to each other. This was their best chance to strike, as painfully as they could.

"Burn in hell!" Natsumi cried. "Searing Circle!"

While this had been a fearsome skill, it had never been quite as potent as it had tonight – burning hotter and spinning faster, cycling through the monster's inhuman flesh.

"I'm taking you out!" Masato declared. "Electroball!"

The resulting explosion, charged with more electricity than Kohaku remembered, made her flinch. Everyone's fury for this repugnant menace was starting to scare her. True, she hated this monster just as much as they did. But losing themselves in their rage might lead to even more pain.

"Kohaku, look out!"

Gasping, Kohaku felt a sudden shove, barely gaining her balance. A large explosion had just missed her, but its azure radiation had affected Noburo – and rather painfully, too.

"Noburo-kun..." Kohaku said, stunned. In the corner of her eye, she saw Teruko, and quickly blocked her blade with her naginata. However, her guard was broken, and she was struck brutally. The possessed girl made her move, and stabbed at Noburo wildly, without a sound.

"Dammit!" Noburo said, as he was sent reeling. Teruko didn't even look at him in the eye. Was she trying to resist this oppressive force? Or was she no longer able to? Fear and panic had set in Noburo's heart, and dulled the edge of his strength. "...Teruko-chan, you have to be able to still hear me! We made a promise together!"

"A promise?" Kohaku asked.

"It's a promise the two of us shared...one just between us!" Noburo pleaded. "You haven't forgotten either, right? Come on, be strong. Stop this thing from destroying your soul! You can overcome it! Just like everything else you've been through..."

The EX-NIHILO did not seem to be affected by these words, however. Rather, it swung it's blade down, with vehement vigour – but something stopped it mid-way.

"Huh?!" Kohaku said, in shock.

"How'd he get here?!" Natsumi asked, bewildered.

"Get that damn sword away from my brother!"

Noburo couldn't believe it. The man he had heard plan to leave Shinshuto forever was indeed still on the stage, using his own hands to hold back the grand blade. While he was doing so, Grannus punched it straight in the face, causing it to fall backward and drop the sword.

"Kaii!" Noburo said, ecstatic. "But I thought you were moving away..."

"Sorry I'm late. I got held up by an old wino, and then had to get through all these damn random corridors." Kaii said, looking exhausted. He ruffled the boy's hair, smiling. "I know I said I was gonna leave this city, but...well, I realised I had at least one reason to stay."

"Family, right?" Noburo said, looking over to Toki. He stared in shock, completely surprised.

"Yep. Cliche, but not all cliches are bad." Kaii said. He looked over to Toki, who had finally managed to regain his footing. "Sorry for mouthing off at you. I...I've had some time to think, and..."

"Forget about that...I'm just so glad you're here!" Toki said, his voice wavering with emotion. Tears were streaming down his cheeks, but for once, they seemed to be tears of joy. "I'll be fine. Noburo made me see sense."

"...Good job." Kaii said. "Now we just gotta stop that EX-NIHILO. That freaky Shadow keeps showing up, and we end up having to seal it. Screw that. It's dead!"

"Then let's stop this thing!" Kohaku said. "Ah!" Just barely, she dodged the possessed girl's blade, and swung her naginata, keeping her away. "Please, Teruko, I know you don't like us, but I want to help you! Whatever you and Noburo promised to do together, you can still take it!"

"...This looks worse than the other cases I heard about." Kaii said, looking over to the twins. "Like I said. It's going down. Whether I'm in Bythos or not, I can't just let Shadows like these kill innocent people."

Noburo nodded. With his brother by his side, he seemed less despondent. Hopeful, even. His words didn't seem to be getting through to her, so to rescue Teruko from this dark fate, he knew what he must do. Ever iota of his being would go into killing the demonic EX-NIHILO, the most malignant of all Shadows.

"Atomic Scissors!" Kaii shouted, as the nuclear weapons snipped into EX-NIHILO. Pleased with the result, he lunged forward, and his fists rained into the Shadow's chest. Whatever had delayed him clearly hadn't drained all his fighting spirit.

Kei, however, was more focused on the other enemy in the room. The EX-NIHILO was still alive, and it was still turning Teruko against them. The feisty girl who loved Noburo didn't seem to be there anymore.

"...Shintaro!" Kohaku gasped. While she had been on the stage, Shintaro had been taking out Shadows as fast as he could, but he had become weary. She leaped from the stage onto one of the chairs, and swiftly attacked the Dzerlarhons from behind.

"Kohaku, wait!" Noburo shouted.

"I...I need to do something about all these other Shadows. Shintaro, please hold on..." Kohaku said, tending to his wounds.

"Relax. I'm a healer too." Kaii said. "I'm more talented than Bythos think."

"Hey...I never doubted you..." Toki said. "Even before I knew you were..."

"Let's worry about beating this guy first, before we have some major family talk." Kaii said. "Eat this!" He punched the EX-NIHILO right in the face, just as a flame from Jack O'Lantern ignited beneath it.

"Why can't you just die?!" Kei screamed, tearfully. "This time, for good!"

The Shadow wasn't quite prepared to kill itself, however. Summoning its magic, it inflicted Kei with a nasty Makajama, blocking her own supernatural ability.

"Dammit!" Kei yelled. All she had left was her sword – and in that second, she had to block Teruko's.

"Damn..." Masato yelled. "Kei! Try this!"

With a Tarukaja, Camulus gave strength to Kei's swordsmanship – enough for her to knock Teruko's sword out of her hand, and stab the EX-NIHILO in the stomach. Rage itself seemed to overtake her, as she twisted her sword, creating a red 'crack' like effect.

"Yeah! We're gonna kill this damn freak, right here, right now!"

Noburo had joined in the assault, stabbing at the Shadow as rapidly as he could. It's blood seemed to pour from random parts of its body, even beneath the mask.

"Let's do this, Brigid!" Natsumi yelled. Nodding, the fiery goddess created a burning orange sphere, that encapsulated the heavily wounded Shadow. "Convection Course!"

Suddenly, she picked up the Shadow – or rather, the infernal cage it was currently stuck in – and hurled it towards Natsumi. Adeptly, she swung her staff high at the fireball, sending it into the sky – creating a blast of red-hot flames. She gave her Persona high five. The Shadow, while on fire, fell to the ground with a deafening thud, its bloodied body now scorched.

"How'd you like that, you jerk?!" She jeered. "Now stay there and die!"

"That was pretty good, Natsumi. But I don't think it's going to acquiesce." Kei said.

"Acqui-what?" Kaii said, blinking.

"Watch out!" Kei yelled. Another Nullity Blade came, this time cutting right through the Wild Card. She cried out in pain, but before anyone could come to her aid, the Shadow had fired a volley of miniature red lasers. Not only that, Teruko's own eyes turned red, and fired energy of their own.

"Teruko! What – what are you doing to her?!" Noburo cried.

"Ugh..." Kaii said, taking a hit to the shoulder. Grunting, he rolled towards the Shadow – uppercutting it in the jaw. "Toki! You ever seen anything like this before?"

"No...the Princess keeps the EX-NIHILO to herself. She never told us about anything like this." Toki uttered.

"Are you trying to turn Teruko into another one of you?" Noburo asked. "Is that your plan?! There's no way you'll succeed! Kouha!"

A blast of Aengus' light put a halt to another volley of sword and lasers, and following up with this, the twins cast down an explosive Agilao and an indignant Zionga. This Shadow was putting up more of a fight than had been expected – it was as if something elsewhere was fuelling it. Perhaps the strong emotions attached to this place were the cause.

"Good work, everyone." Kei said, as she stood with Masato and Natsumi to either side. "Come! Tam Lin!"

Compared to Morax, this was a more handsome, gallant figure, a Scottish fairy knight with green armour and a spear. This spear quickly was honed into a Dream Needle, impaling the EX-NIHILO in the forehead. While a violent, skull-cracking impact, it alas did not put the creature to any kind of sleep.

"...We better be careful." Kaii said. "C'mon, Grannus, be a pal!"

Gathering all the healing power it could muster, the Persona sent forth the potent Mediarama to alleviate Noburo and the others.

"Thanks, dude!" Masato said.

"Anytime, my man." Kaii said, smirking. "Go get him, Noburo!"

"Right!" Noburo said. He ran as far as he could, avoiding both Teruko and the EX-NIHILO's blades, and jumped up high – striking the Shadow in the neck with both swords. "Die, damn you! You son of a bitch!"

"We just have to keep this up until Teruko can gain her true Persona." Masato said. "Right? Like what happened with me and Natsumi?"

"Not everybody can use a Persona." Kei said, looking away. "That 'Persona' we saw Teruko using was just this Shadow in disguise."

"Don't give up, Teruko! Fight back!" Noburo pleaded. "You've come so far... Dammit! Aengus! Shimmering Spire!"

Propelled into the air by his Persona, and imbued with divine providence, he had even more confidence than before. He drove his swords through the Shadow, leaving trails of white behind. Even with this, however, it still had plenty of its mysterious energy to spare, hurling the ghastly Ex Nihilo around – hitting Noburo in the chest.

"Damn...!"

They still had come no closer to saving Teruko, whose body remained a puppet, controlled via phantom strings. Masato was weaving out of her way, while Natsumi was evading the EX-NIHILO's mammoth sword.

"Uzume!" Kei beckoned. A mental assault of Psio hit the Shadow, forcing it to cease its assault.

"Nice!" Kaii said, cracking his knuckles. "Now, eat THIS! Flare Fists!"

Grannus, charging up as much power in his fists as he could, rammed into the EX-NIHILO as hard as he could – and the results were staggering to behold. In fact, the creature was hit so hard, it broke through the back wall, revealing the backstage area. And lurking there was a crystal-like altar, rapidly glowing brighter.

"Just like Hanashima..." Natsumi said.

EX-NIHILO laid on the floor, having dropped its sword. Likewise, Teruko had stopped moving as well, and instead seemed to be staring at the incomplete Core of Tarumi. The hordes of Shadows had finally been abated, and thus the rest of the group could rejoin the stage.

"...Noburo. You okay?" Shintaro asked.

"I think so..." Noburo said, although he still looked anxious. Everyone around him seemed exhausted, no doubt from the endless amount of enemies they had to endure. Toki moved closer to his younger son, but stumbled. Kaii, however, quickly ran to his side, and helped him stay steady.

"Everyone seems to be alright." Shigeru said, relieved. "We have much to discuss. Teruko, can you hear us?"

There was silence. Noburo walked closer to her, but she didn't react. She suddenly screamed, holding her head in pain, and fell to her knees.

"What?! What's wrong?!" He ran as fast as he could, but as he did, he was suddenly sent backwards. The Core had flashed red, breaking apart some of the floor. "Teruko!"

"...Why? Why am I here..?! Is this her doing?!"

Noburo gasped. He had stopped calling out to her, after so many failed attempts to reach her soul. Yet now her voice was clear as day, however. Her eyes had expression again, albeit one of pure terror, and she was moving. She stood up, looking around, clearly in distress.

"Can you hear me?!" Noburo asked. "Are you okay? Hang on! We can still save you!"

"Save me?" She asked, incredulous. "You can't save me! Not from her...her and her damn followers! Besides, you hate me as much as...wait a moment. Whose body am I in?!"

"What the -" Noburo said, equally bewildered. "You're Teruko, aren't you? Teruko Yoshikawa! My girlfriend!"

"Teruko...? Huh? Isn't that the girl who...?"

Confusion was fuelling the atmosphere now. Nothing Teruko was saying made any sense. Perhaps the EX-NIHILO had affected her memories. Shintaro, anxious, looked to his comrades.

"Guys. What should we do?" Shintaro asked.

Before anyone could offer an answer, Teruko suddenly screamed again, clutching her head. Noburo tried to reach her, but before his hand could reach hers, she became shrouded in a vivid red aurora, as did EX-NIHILO.

"What is all this?" Shigeru asked. He grabbed Toki by the collar of his shirt, his veins almost popping. "You better not be withholding information from me."

"I don't have a fucking clue!" Toki begged. "I swear..."

"Please. I know what I did was wrong. And it's too late to undo what I've done. Please, let me die..."

_What? What is she saying? Who is she talking to? If she's not Teruko, who the hell is she?_

"Die?!" Noburo said, stunned. "No! I don't want to lose you, Teruko-chan!

With one almighty scream, she collapsed to her knees. Next, there a tremendous explosion of red energy, spreading all over the area. Much of the grand stage was being wrecked, with every single seat blown to pieces, and an entire balcony seat falling down to the ground, collapsing immediately. The place was shaking, and cracks were starting to form in the domed ceiling. The curtains were torn to shreds, dissolving into threads of blood-red.

"No!" Kaii pleaded, avoiding a collapsing stage light. "Dammit, it's still..."

EX-NIHILO had now recovered, its body taking in the energy of the Core. Arming itself with its sword, it seemed prepared to fight even with its host no longer active.

" **Unknown sentience emerged to reside within Host 04. Original sentience's condition unknown. Annihilation of human subjects must still be fulfilled."**

"Shut up!" Noburo screamed. "Will you just shut up! Don't call Teruko a 'host' or a 'sentience'. She's a human being. One who's suffering because of you. She's the one that keeps me going when things get rough. I won't let you take her from me!"

"Everyone! We cannot waste any more time. This Shadow must be destroyed, tonight!" Shigeru ordered, his eyes seemingly on fire. "Behold! Wraith Cross!"

Dis Pater's large laser blades protruded from its hands, and slashed the Shadow in a cross formation. It then hurled it onto the ground, leaving it open for the next attack.

"Finally, I can work on dissecting you. Banishing Beam!"

Eunomia, in sync with Reia's heart, held her left palm, and fired a laser of pure white light at the EX-NIHILO. Before it could recover, it was immediately beset by Netuno.

"How about this, you freak? Dynamo Strings!"

Tam Kung played a short melody on its oar-guitar, and yellow guitar strings appeared and surrounded the Shadow constricting it. They then began slowly electrocuting it. Right after this, it was shot at in the chest – via Hiroyuki's rifle.

"Your time is at an end, demon. Maihadare!"

Masamune withdrew his sword, made of pure ice. Like before, it was surrounded by an icy mist. With an expertly strong slash, the EX-NIHILO was cut across the chest, and the sword shattered in a bright white blast of snow.

"Everyone's so powerful...but so am I. I'm much more than a college student. I'll save Shinshuto from falling into ruin, and to do that, I'll ruin you! Baleful Brook!"

Saga emerged, conjured by Novalie, and raised her urn aloft. A lavender aurora surrounded it, and a geyser of water burst out, pouring onto EX-NIHILO with immense pressure.

"We're gonna do it!" Masato said. "We're going to destroy you, and save Teruko! Nothing's going to stop us – wait. What is it, Akari?"

Her face was pale, and she stepped back panicking.

"It's...it's still teeming with energy. The sheer hysteria from Tarumi alone is giving it even more strength!"

EX-NIHILO held out its hands, and summoned a gargantuan amount of energy. This power, seemingly hewn from righteous anger, congealed into a massive black sphere of omnipotent strength, with an ominous red aurora swirling around it. Its mere presence seemed to be distorting the air around it. The ground was shaking, and Shintaro felt almost as if he was being propelled backward.

"I...I can't get near him! My body is..." Kohaku, straining, couldn't seem to move. Nor could anyone else.

"This...this can't be it!" Akari yelled. "Not after all of this! We've fought too hard to die now!"

" **Must destroy the weakest target. Bythos agent 'Toki Hayashi' detected. Mentally and physically fatigued. Will eliminate first."**

"...Huh?" Toki yelled. He gasped. The monster had a target – and it seemed to be him. "Shit!" He braced himself, shutting his eyes. But when the sphere was launched, it grew in magnitude. It seemingly collided with him, creating a gigantic spherical explosion of dark force.

"NO!" Noburo yelled. "...Huh?"

The dust had settled. Instead of Toki, there was Kaii. He was standing adamantly right in front of him, arms outstretched. But he quickly fell to the ground, letting out a cry of pain. Kaii's quick speed had saved his father, it seemed.

"Kaii?!" Toki yelled, frantic. "What the hell did you just do?!"

"I'm sorry, I..." Kaii said, weary. "I couldn't...let you..." He shut his eyes, with a weak smile on his face.

"Dammit! It should be me doing this for you, kid!" Toki yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"...Dammit!" Noburo yelled, pointing his swords at the EX-NIHILO's neck. "You've turned Teruko into your puppet, and you're trying to kill my dad and my brother too? That's it, I'm ending this right now! Aengus, I beg of you...destroy this monster!"

Aengus stretched out his arms, and the entire area turned to darkness – but with beams of light rapidly flowing in the distance. However, they seemed to be growing nearer, and as they did, voices could be heard singing together in harmony. The beams finally stopped, having accumulated into a gigantic orb of golden radiance. Its harsh light shone over the EX-NIHILO, and it actually started to tremble.

" **Song of Wanderers!"**

The orb exploded, finally breaking through the darkness and leaving nothing but brilliant golden light, flashing vividly around the demonic Shadow. It could be seen writhing in pain as a silhouette, thrashing wildly, in a feeble attempt to escape. But, it was to no avail. Its body melted away, leaving a mask that was enveloped by the light.

The extreme force of Noburo's attack had destroyed the Gnosis device – he saw it fall to the ground, shattering into pieces. Each fragment became a wisp of darkness, fading forever. Likewise, Teruko let go of her sword, which dissolved into dust as well. She fell down, with her eyes closed.

"Teruko!"

Reacting quickly, Noburo ran towards her, catching her before she fell. He looked up at the monstrous creature, and gasped. It's body was convulsing rapidly, the two swords of Aengus driving even further into its head. Its dark blood began to cascade from its wounds, and its body was sparking with red electricity.

"...It's over." Kei said, eyeing the beast with pure hatred. She put away her katana, and gazed at the once-glorious playhouse. "But..."

The EX-NIHILO was finally gone – leaving its heavy black sword in its place. As the sword 'melted', and disappeared, the crystalline structure, shaped like a diamond, broke apart, and its pieces phased into the ground, creating a giant glyph of blue light. Out of it came a large, seemingly glass red sphere, that seemed to be constantly emitting a mixture of red and blue air. Like the previous orb, this one had strange human-like shapes drifting endlessly within it.

Kei took the core into her hand, and she and her body seemed to glow in sync with it. The Core was absorbed into her Gnosis, and the theatre slowly reverted to its normal colours and trappings, no longer tainted with cursed blood.

"Another Core!" Shintaro said, running up to Kei. "I know you could do it."

"It wasn't just me. We all played a role." Kei said. "But Kaii..."

They looked over to Kaii, who was in a protective Toki's arms, eyes still closed. Akari walked over, however, and placed her hand on his forehead.

"...Don't worry. He'll make it. Epona can tell." Akari said, gently. "But he won't be fighting with his Persona for a little while."

"Kaii..." Toki said. "We better get you to Hanashima. Teruko, too."

"Yeah. Teruko..." Noburo said. "...Huh?"

"What? What is it?" Shigeru, kneeling by his son's side.

"Teruko, she..." Noburo said, the colour draining out of his face. "She's cold...she's not breathing!"

Shintaro felt a lump in his throat. This couldn't be. This hadn't happened before, with the past victims of EX-NIHILO. Yet Teruko didn't seem to be waking up, or even moving. Noburo shook her, desperately, but there was still no signs of consciousness.

"Help!" Noburo cried. "Someone, help -"

"I'm..." Akari said, sobbing. Kohaku put an arm around her, slowly coming to the same realization she had. "I'm sorry! I...I can't sense anything in her. Noburo, she's -"

"No! She can't be!" Noburo wailed, tears flooding down his cheeks. "She...she can't be gone! I saved her...I stopped EX-NIHILO! So why...why is she...please, Teruko! Please wake up!"

The only sounds were of Noburo sobbing, as he stared longingly at his beloved. Shigeru knelt beside him, arm around his shoulder, but even he was overcome. He wiped away a tear from his own eye, and everyone else seemed tearful as well.

**|Nakahara Household|10:00 pm|**

The rest of that night was a blur. Shintaro kept silent as they returned to the Akartharto Kosmos, and he saw the ambulance take Teruko and Kaii away. Noburo, Shigeru and Toki came with them, without a sound. He didn't know what he should do. All around him was chaos, as rioters were arrested by the police, one after the other. His mind was racing, and he found himself back in Totsuka, alone and shaking.

He returned home in silence, and went straight to his room. His parents called his name, worried, but he couldn't bring himself to talk to them. He just stared out of his window at the dark, cloudy sky. The news would spread shortly, no doubt.

"...Why?!" He said out loud, banging a fist against the window. His eyes welling up with tears, he stood there, limp. Tonight should have been an outstanding victory. It should have been the moment a father and his two sons could finally connect, and the team saved Tarumi from the curse of Bythos.

Yet...the girl who should have been their ally had become a victim.

One that Shintaro would curse himself for not being able to save.

"What the hell is my Persona even good for?!" Shintaro yelled. Just then, he felt his phone vibrate. A message. Out of energy, he fell backwards onto his bed and looked at the message. The sender was still unknown, just like that text back in April. His heart skipped a beat when he read the message.

**I got your reply. I didn't actually think it would work. I can't tell you who I am. Not yet. There's still too much I need to do first. Please don't blame yourself for what happened. There was nothing either of us could have done to stop it. One day, we'll get to the bottom of this. Until then, please try to rest.**

_What?! How do you know what happened? What do you mean either of us? No one I was with would have sent that weird text last month! Why can't you tell me who you are?! How can I sleep, with everything that's happened?!_

He shut his eyes, still red and tearful, and waited for sleepiness to overtake him. For tonight, however, he would not fall into slumber. While his room may be silent, the sounds of the playhouse would echo in this mind for a long time. A battle, hard-fought, that ended in the worst possible way. Try as he might, there was only one thought in his mind;

Teruko Yoshikawa was forever lost.

**|END OF ARC II|**


	26. You and I, Unfulfilled Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tarumi's Cognition Core was won, and Toki's Shadow finally returned back to its form of Shuten Doji, his Persona. The Anomaly Mnemosyne was quelled. However, the events in both worlds left tragedy in their wake. Teruko Yoshikawa tragically had her life sapped away by the evil EX-NIHILO, leaving a gigantic void in Noburo's heart. He will need to learn to cope with this loss, as he prepares to bond with his estranged real father - and his brother Kaii.
> 
> There will be no time to rest. Bythos take a different approach, and may potentially expand their ranks beyond the lesser members such as the Jade Squad. Troubling rumours about the Aramis corporation spread unrest, and a troubled past threatens to erupt, after over a decade. Not only that, three ghosts of the past will rise again, and together, may cause untold devastation to the city. How will Shintaro and friends handle things, as they deal with their own burdens?

**Arc III:** Lessons from Lost Souls

_Must sorrow always follow joy?_

_A heartfelt reunion was merely the prelude to a heartbreaking end._

_Even worse, the shining girl was almost overtaken by that selfish phantom._

_I cannot allow that loathsome girl to interfere with the path I have taken._

_She will continue to suffer eternal torment for the pain she caused us all._

_No matter how hard she begs for death, I cannot let her curse end until my life begins again._

_Very soon, a stark realization will be made by two close friends._

_They will be faced with the truth behind those they thought they knew._

_Although strong-willed, their hearts will no doubt waver with the events due to come._

_That girl of the Wild Card continues to vex me._

_She is unlike any of the others that have come forth._

_Who the hell is she? Will I be able to control her like the others?_

_I shall continue to plot the return of all to normalcy._

* * *

 

**|Kansei High School – Assembly Hall|8:45 am|**

The school's assembly hall was a suitably large facility, mostly white in décor, enough to hold the three years of students. An urgent assembly had been called by the Principal, and the entire school was to attend, staff and students.

"What do you think it is?" Hidetoshi Nagasawa, of the baseball team, asked.

"I don't know. It sounds serious." replied his friend Daisuke Koshibuki, a member of the Go club.

"Is it about all the stuff going down in Tarumi?" Haia Oshiro asked.

"...I haven't seen Noburo-kun or Teruko-chan." Minae Saito said. "I hope they're alright. There was a massive riot at the Kyutai Playhouse, and a lot of people were injured..."

"...What do you think it is, Katashi-kun?" Manami Inoue asked, looking at the boy to her right. This tall, athletic boy with messy dark hair and a dour look was none other than the fabled Katashi Yamaguchi, the star of the track team. In fact, he was touted as the best sportsman the school had ever seen, just as Manami was heralded as the most academically gifted.

"Who knows? I just hope it won't take too long. It's an important time for the track team right now, and I need all the practice I can get." Katashi said, sighing. "Dammit, why won't everyone stop worrying and shut up?"

Manami looked away, with sadness in her eyes. "They're afraid, Katashi-kun. Bythos are causing a lot of havoc, and the police can't do anything to stop them. If only there was something I could do. Being clever and dancing isn't enough."

"You're not a messiah, Manami-chan. You can only do so much. Besides, are Bythos really the ones at fault? They aren't the ones that killed Kazuko Onishi." The unsmiling runner said, crossing his arms.

"Everyone, can we please settle down? Principal Hashimoto has an announcement to make."

Mrs Suzuki stepped aside from the microphone, and stood with some of the other teachers. Approaching the stand was Principal Bunko Hashimoto, an elderly woman, with her white hair tied into an austere bun. She was never seen in anything other than her black dress with white sleeves, but her glasses changed to some new and expensive pair every month or so. Why this was, no one seemed to know – some say she had a bad habit of breaking them, others say she just got bored of one pair and moved on to another. Today's pair were black, and with a fetching silver chain.

"Hashimoto-sensei doesn't look very happy..." Haia said, nervous. "Are we in trouble? I swear, whatever it was, it wasn't me this time."

"Oh, knock it off. Not every incident is down to you. Only most of them." Minae mused. "Although she does seem rather serious."

Even with her short stature and advanced age, she had a sharp intellect, and a forceful tongue – she had been known to reduce grown men to tears. But today, she wasn't in the mood for lecturing her student body. Today would become a day of sadness.

"I have some terrible news I must impart. One of our first-year students – Teruko Yoshikawa – has passed away."

There were many gasps, and muttering immediately began between the shocked students.

"Teruko is  _dead_?!" Minae said, her heart racing "But...that can't be! She seemed perfectly healthy yesterday..."

"How did that happen? Was she involved with those riots?" Hidetoshi said.

"That was crazy. One minute, everyone's rioting there, the next they're all calm. Doesn't make any sense." Daisuke said.

"This isn't real, is it?" Manami asked, completely shocked. "Someone from our own school?" She looked at Katashi, who stared at the Principal, deeply concentrating. "Katashi...?"

"...I'm fine. I just...I didn't think it'd be anything like this." He mumbled.

"As this time, we don't know the exact cause. I must urge all of you not to speculate, or say anything unnecessary. We must think of Teruko's family and friends, and band together in this time of grief. In all my years of teaching, I've never seen a student die...until now."

She wiped away the tears from her eyes, holding onto her cane. Everyone else was quiet, hanging on to her every word.

"Please, whatever you may have thought of her, respect her, and her memory. Myself and the other teachers here will be there if you need someone to talk to." Ms. Hashimoto continued. "Classes will proceed as normal for the rest of the day."

The assembly continued, but there were those in the second year particularly depressed about this announcement. When the students were finally dismissed from the hall, they stayed behind, and finally were able to express themselves.

"It's...so final, hearing it from Hashimoto-sensei's mouth." Kohaku said, tearfully.

"Indeed. When they pronounced her dead right in front of Noburo, I..." Shintaro said. "I didn't get any sleep last night. I don't think any of us did."

"What should we do?" Akari asked. "That was the third time we fought that thing, right? Is there no way we can kill it for good?"

"If there is, I don't now what it would be." Kei said, painfully. "If only we could have defeated it earlier. But we were spread out, dealing with all the other Shadows. My Wild Card powers aren't much good if I can't save one girl..."

"That's enough, Kei. I spent most of last night telling myself the same sort of things. That my Persona ability was worthless." Shintaro said. "...It's not going to get us anywhere if we think like that. Bythos are still active, even if Kaii and Toki might defect."

"So we have no choice but to keep going?" Akari said. "I don't know if I can. When I stopped sensing any kind of life in Teruko, it scared me so much. What if we can't save someone else?"

"We did save someone." Kei suddenly said. "Toki."

"What? But it was Noburo who got him to accept himself, right?" Akari asked.

"Yes. But he wouldn't have been able to do that without our help." Kei said. "And that's what he needs right now. For now, let's leave him to Shigeru. We need to deal with this in our own way."

"...Okay." Shintaro said. "I don't know if I've got the energy for studying right now."

"With an assembly like that, I doubt anyone does." Kohaku said. "But if it takes my mind off last night, I'm willing to try."

"Then let's go." Kei said, leading the group out of the school. She and the other girls left, with Shintaro bringing up the rear.

_Why is this happening? Only yesterday, she was giving us attitude. Had she become a Persona user for real, maybe we should have become friends. We could have shown her that we weren't a threat to her and Noburo. But it's far too late now._

Even if they had helped Noburo reconnect with Toki, in the same night, the boy had lost his beloved. It all seemed so hopeless. What was Bythos planning to accomplish? As he walked, he suddenly bumped into someone, and fell to the ground on his backside.

"Ow!"

"Ah! Oh my goodness, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

He blinked. Manami was there, her face red with fright. She offered him a hand, and he gratefully took it, getting back to his feet.

"It's alright, Manami-senpai. It...it's my fault, really." Shintaro.

"Oh, you're Nakahara, from the second year. I've heard the teachers say some wonderful things about you." Manami said, politely.

"Everything okay?" Akari asked, coming over.

"We're fine. I just need to watch where I'm going." Shintaro said, embarrassed.

Manami smiled, yet it was a fleeting smile.

"I'm...still struggling to take it all in. One of our own students..." She said, sweeping her blue hair behind her. "It's not fair. She was only in her first year of high school. I never even knew her name until today."

"You look like you're taking it to heart, Manami-senpai." Kei said. "Have you had problems with Bythos yourself?"

"Bythos? Well...yes. I shouldn't really discuss this openly, but they're trying to steal industry secrets from my family's banking firm. Inoue Bank, you'll know of them. Their marketing campaign is a bit aggressive. Too much, not that my parents listen to anyone except themselves."

_Wait, that's the bank Kaii ended up taking Akari too by accident. So she's the heiress? I knew a lot of wealthy families have children here, but the size of their HQ is incredible. And they have such cheesy commercials all over the media, about how awesome and secure their new bank app is. And their highly trained and dedicated anti-fraud team._

"Manami, what are you doing talking to the underclassmen for? We've got to get to class!" Katashi said, tapping his foot impatiently. "You better watch out, geek with the books."

"Geek with the books." Kei said, barely containing her laughter. "You may be an athlete, Katashi-senpai. But you sure as hell can't trashtalk."

"...I leave the talking for those too weak to act." He said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go, Manami! We've no time to waste on kouhai."

"I'll see you around, no doubt. Bye..." Manami said, waving goodbye.

"So that was Katashi Yamaguchi and Manami Inoue, our school's top romance." Kei said, crossing her arms. "...She could do so much better."

"At least Noburo and Teruko were..." Kohaku said, but stopped herself. Tearful, she ran to class, the others following. The day was going to be long, and emotional. If they were to have any hope of getting back to normal, however, many more days like this would have to come.

**|Chieki Academy – Class 2-1|15:30|**

In Chieki, few students had any idea who Teruko even was. Of the ones that did, however, the Yoshinaga twins were in the most despair. They had barely focused in any of their lessons, resulting in both of them receiving a tongue lashing from Mr. Koyanagi.

"Seems ineptitude must run in the family. Isn't your older brother a teacher as well? He can't have done very well if Kansei was the only school hiring him. Now, if you don't want detention, I suggest you two pay attention. And that goes for you, Fusuno."

"...Yes, sir." Eiji said, with as much icy sarcasm as he could muster. "Dammit, if you two hadn't caught his attention, I could have gotten away with daydreaming! You owe me for this -"

"Whatever..." Masato said, listlessly. Eiji scowled but kept quiet. The latter had tried to get the former's attention most of the day, but failed at every turn.

The lesson ended, after what felt like an eternity. Rather than talk to Eiji, or anyone else, Masato stormed out of the room.

"Wait! Masato, get back here!" Natsumi yelled, but he didn't respond. "Dammit."

She followed, ignoring Asami's harsh stare. Try as hard she looked, she couldn't see her brother anywhere. Yet according to her Gnosis, Masato was still within Chieki's area. Even though she was hurting, she knew she had to find her brother. So they could talk, alone, about what had just happened.

Desperate, she tried the Practice Building. From there, she peered in as many rooms as she could, until she saw two familiar students from the upper year. In the Electronics Club, they were tinkering away with another of their pet projects and could be heard chatting.

"...The new bodyguard your dad hired sounds pretty cool." Toshiaki asked, as he put on his safety goggles, and grabbed the soldering iron. He was putting the finishing touches on a computer controlled vehicle, equipped with various light sensors.

"She is. But she's so secretive." Evelina said. "Apparently she was with the police before she decided to start her private security company. With all the stuff going on with my father's business, he decided we needed more protection. I'm just glad he hasn't got a task force watching my every move at this school."

"Probably cause you've got me around, right?" Toshiaki said, smug.

"...Nah, if he knew how much of a wimp you were, he'd hire even more guards."

The two giggled as they continued to work. As they did, Natsumi continued to watch, ignoring the odd looks the other students in the building gave her.

_Toshiaki-senpai...you look so carefree. How do you do it, with everything that's going on in the world? I wish I could tell you how I'm feeling...maybe you'd be able to cheer me up. But, I can't just watch you all day. I have to find my brother, before he does something stupid and shove Koyanagi-sensei out of the window._

She quickly snapped out of her trance, and ran out of the building, back into the grand main facility of Chieki. As she did, she wondered what had become of Fumika, of the Azure Squad.

_I never saw them later on that night. Surely they made it out of there alive, right? Kaii wouldn't have let him them die. No, he wouldn't have. Maybe Fumika's been to school and I just haven't seen her. Strange, though, two of the Aeon Admins were with us last night, but their Squad appeared._

Finally, she got to the rooftop. Still, no sign of her brother. At this point, however, she couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears came flooding, and she fell to her knees, dropping her bag. She buried her head in her hands, sobbing.

"Why...why couldn't we save her? Me and Masato beat the EX-NIHILO! But...why couldn't we help Teruko...?! We swore to protect her...she might not have liked us, but...why?!"

The harsh sun bore down on her, and she grimaced at the sky, her face wet from the many tears. She had scuffed her knees from falling to the ground, but that was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. Defeating EX-NIHILO had led to her awakening to Brigid, and discovering just how passionate she could be. But defeating it last night had led to heartbreak.

"We failed, didn't we...? We couldn't do it! We weren't enough...and if we can't save Teruko, who can we save? Is it even worth carrying on?" Natsumi pleaded, standing up. "...I can't...I can't fight like this anymore."

Just then, the door opened. For a moment, she thought it was going to be her brother, but when she saw it was Asami, she turned her back.

"What are you doing here?!" Natsumi shouted.

"You've been crying. I can tell." Asami said. "...We're not in the Theio Kosmos right now. I don't have to tell anyone in Bythos we're speaking like this."

"How can you still call yourself an Aeon Administrator?!" Natsumi shouted. "Your group put the EX-NIHILO in a Gnosis, and gave it to Teruko! The girlfriend of Toki's son! Don't you know what happened?!"

"I...I didn't want this either!" Asami pleaded. "I never gave her that Gnosis..."

"Bullshit!" Natsumi yelled. "Teruko was one of us. Even if her Persona was that disgusting Shadow in a disguise. She should still be here. Her and Noburo, together as one. If Bythos are so just, how can they use such Shadows like that?"

"...You know why I work with Bythos." Asami said. "The one who tortured my friends is gone. But there are countless others like him. I'll do whatever it takes to stop them from ruining anyone's life. Even...if I have to ruin my own."

"But...you can't mean that, can you? Do you really not care what happens to you?" Natasumi asked, now facing her sorrowful friend.

"I'm prepared for whatever comes next. The city is on the verge of either becoming a corrupt hellhole, or a new utopia that Mayor Ashikaga can't stop from glistening." Asami said. "I want that paradise, even if I'm not around to live there. Although, what I'd really like is you and I to build that paradise together."

"Me? What about your brainwashed fan club?!" Natsumi asked.

"...They're not brainwashed. They're enlightened. Not all of them are up to the task of fighting with a fake Persona. That's why we've not used any of them against you yet. Natsumi, please believe me. I never wanted Teruko to die. Nor did any of the Admins."

There was a moment of quiet, until the door opened again. This time, it was Masato, who gasped at the sight.

"I'm going now. Even with this, we won't stop...not while there are still four Cognition Cores out there. We'll get all six, sooner or later. Even if it means we have to make sacrifices. Ones we don't want to, but if they're necessary..."

She left, leaving the twins to their own devices. Masato ran up to his sister, and held her hands.

"Sorry...I just needed some time alone. Koyanagi-sensei was getting on my nerves, Eiji was being a dumbass..."

"What do we do, Masato?" Natsumi asked. "Do we just carry on as normal? Fight Shadows, go to school? If we can't stop EX-NIHILO from killing Teruko, what can we possibly accomplish?"

"I...I wish I knew." Masato said. "Noburo loved her so damn much. His face lit up whenever he saw her, or talked about her. Like me with Dorothy. If Bythos decided to infect her with that freak -"

"If they try anything like that, I'd kill them all." Natsumi said, clenching her fists.

"What? Even Asami?"

"...I don't know what I'm saying anymore." She walked over to the wall, looking at Mizuho all around her. Sadness was overflowing in her heart, and she wiped away several more lingering tears. "I just want a way to stop Bythos from doing anything else like this. I thought Brigid would be the way forward. But fighting Toki, EX-NIHILO, and all those Shadows hasn't gotten me any closer."

"Then are you going to quit?" Masato asked, standing close to his sister. "It's not like we can stop being who we are. Denying ourselves would cause us to become like Toki last night."

"Quit? Now?" Natsumi said. "Even what happened to Teruko-san, we still have two Cognition Cores. We've stopped Mizuho and Tarumi from becoming fully brainwashed. ...Maybe that's what we need to focus on. Not what we couldn't do. What we  _could_."

"That sounds more like my sister."

The two of them laughed, despite their tears, and hugged each other.

"Let's go home," Natsumi said. "It might be a while before we see Noburo again. When we do, let's make sure we're strong enough to help him."

"Right. After all of this, he'll need us more than ever. And maybe we need him even more." Masato said. The two of them finally left the sunlit roof, as the gentle spring breeze shook the branches of the famous Chieki Academy tree.

**|Hanashima Hospital – Ward 02, Room 5|16:00|**

"...Huh?"

Kaii opened his eyes, and saw the bright white hospital room all around him. He had been fitted with one of their blue hospital gowns. Blinking repeatedly, he looked around, and noticed a drip had been attached to him. His muscles felt ache unlike any he had ever felt before, and even sitting up was an ordeal.

"Whoa, easy!" Another voice said. Kaii's vision was still blurry, but when it cleared up, he saw a worried older man in the chair next to him. "...It's me, Toki."

"Where am I? Hanashima?" Kaii asked. "It smells funny in here."

"It's the stuff they mop the floors with. It kills germs that haven't even been born yet, or something. You got transferred here, and I've been sitting here keeping an eye on you for...god knows how long. Went through a lot of coffee just to stay awake." Toki said, finishing his last cup. "Didn't want you to wake up alone. Sounds like you've been lonely for way too damn long."

"You got that right. I've not had good human friends for a while. Course, you're a lot more than a friend now." Kaii said, smiling.

"Kid, we got a lot to talk about. You okay? If you wanna rest up, I'll come around -"

"No. Stay. I wanna hear about what happened last night." Kaii said, seriously. "After I defeated Dionysus, I just had to reach you guys. The Azure Squad were too weak to come with me. So I told them to get somewhere safe."

Toki nodded, relieved. Unlike their Claret counterparts, this squad appeared to have survived. Which was more than could be said for a certain girl.

"After I fainted...you killed EX-NIHILO, right?" Kaii asked. "Please, tell me you -"

"Yeah. We did." Toki said. "Everyone fought that thing head on, giving it all kinds of hell. Course, I was still too weak to fight. You weren't there to see Shuten Doji turn into my Shadow...it was a shameful sight. All of my sorry past, turned into some show. But Noburo got me to accept it as part of who I am, not something to keep running away from."

"I always knew you could do it." Kaii said, albeit nervously. "...I really am sorry I said all that shit to you before, though. You didn't deserve all that."

"Hey...you're my boy, after all. I'd forgive you for everything. Well, maybe not risking your own life to save mine." Toki said. "I'm supposed to protect my kids..."

"Fine, you can do the heroics next time." Kaii said, laughing slightly. Then, he turned serious. "...Answer me. Did Teruko make it?"

There was complete silence. Toki just sat there, with a stony expression. Finally, he hanged his head in despair.

"...No. By the time the ambulance got there, she was already dead. We couldn't..."

"What?!" Kaii screamed, angrily. "How? EX-NIHILO didn't kill the last few people it possessed -"

"It didn't kill the twins, sure. But there was that other boy who got his soul sucked out of him." Toki said. "I looked it up...he only lived four more days after he was checked into hospital. Don't you get it? If the person it possesses doesn't have a Persona, the EX-NIHILO will only kill them."

Kaii shook his head, tearfully. "No...that can't be right. There must have been a way to save Teruko."

"Whoever gave her that infected Gnosis is gonna pay. I'm gonna find out who in Bythos did it. Which means...I'm going back to being an Aeon Administrator." Toki said, grimly.

"You've got to be joking! Why?!" Kaii asked. "One of us...did this to her?"

"Maybe it was Nisa Liat herself. Whoever it was, I wonder if they realise just what they've done. They've ended a child's life before it ever begun. What could have happened to Noburo all those years ago...happened to his girlfriend. And now he's devastated. I can't just let that go." Toki said. "Kaii, you're not returning to Bythos, are you?"

"Well...I don't know if Shigeru will let me in his team. Even if I am Noburo's brother." The younger man said, gazing out of the window. He saw Chieki Academy, far in the distance. This seemed to get his mind racing. "Course, with my body the way it is right now, I can't join any team."

"You need to make your own mind up." Toki said. "Just think of me as a double agent. I'm only fighting for Bythos so I can get top-secret info on their plans, and leak it all back to Noburo and his friends. It's not like any of the other Aeons are going to throw them a bone and help them out. So it has to be me. I'll take the risk, even if..."

"...You better be careful. If something happens to you, me and Noburo will never stop grieving." Kaii said. "...He's already lost someone he loves. You can't be the next one to go. Not now..."

Toki stood up, resolute. He clenched his fists, and stared his son deep in the eyes.

"I'll fight with everything I've got to stay alive."

"...You damn well better." Kaii said. "...I've got to get my recovery on track, soon as possible. This is really going to set me back in my boxing lessons, huh?"

"Relax. I kept up with my martial arts over the years. I'll keep you fighting fit, no matter what side you choose to be on." Toki said. "I'm not exactly a soft instructor, though..."

"That's cool with me. I need a teacher that I won't surpass too easily." Kaii said, smirking.

"Hey. Just a thought. You can say no if you don't feel like it, and I won't hold it against you." Toki said. "How about, once you're out of here...you come and live with me?"

Kaii blinked, in confusion. "Me...and you?"

"You've seen my place before, haven't you? It's got a great view of the theme park." Toki said. "It's kind of lonely, being a bachelor. It'd be nice to have some company."

"...Are you sure you want me as a room mate?" Kaii asked. "I'm not the easiest guy to live with, you know."

"Come on. I'm your dad, remember? I don't want to miss out on any more time. We've missed out on so many things. Let's start over." Toki said, reaching out with his hand. Kaii grabbed it, and gripped it tightly. "Whoa. Still got a lot of strength in there, my boy."

"Wonder where I get it from?" Kaii asked. "...I'm glad I don't have to wonder anymore."

"...You and Noburo are the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Hey...don't go crying in front of me. You're supposed to be tough, aren't you?"

Toki laughed, wiping his eyes. "Even badasses get weepy sometimes. Crap, the nurses are coming. Think they want me out of their hair. But I'm coming back tomorrow, you hear me? Every day until you're ready to walk on out of here."

"Every day?" Kaii said, laughing. "And here was me thinking I'd get a break from you! Listen, when you get the chance, tell Noburo I'm gonna be right by his side. If he wants me there, that is."

"You got it." Toki said. After a moment's hesitation, he gave his son a huge hug, and walked out. As one of the young nurses came in with the day's lunch, Kaii smiled.

"Good afternoon, Murayama-san. How are you feeling today?" She asked, serving up the soup and tea.

"You know something? My body hurts like heck. But deep down, I'm feeling better than I have in a long time." Kaii said, cheerily. "Maybe being surrounded by beautiful nurses helps."

The nurse frowned, but Kaii just laughed. Despite the tragedy, he felt hope surging within him. He would recover as quickly as possible, and devote himself to avenging Teruko's death.

**|Komatsu Household – Upstairs|16:30 pm|**

Ever since coming back from the hospital, Noburo had locked himself in his room, refusing to come out or even speak. Despite urging from his mother and step-father, he wouldn't budge, or acknowledge their prescence.

"Noburo, honey?" Kaiyo said. "Please, let me in. I know how awful this must be for you...but don't shut out your own mother. Not at a time like this. Please, I want to see you..."

She saw Shigeru walking upstairs, his face weary, with bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping too well recently, and the previous evening he hadn't managed to sleep at all. Caffeine was all that was keeping him going.

"He won't talk to me at all." Kaiyo said, shaking her head. "I can hear him moving...and crying."

"Perhaps he needs some time alone..." Shigeru said.

"But he's our son, Shigeru."

_I know he is. But I'm the only one of us who knows how Teruko really died. If you knew, Kaiyo...no, I can't. Especially not about Toki._

"I know." Shigeru finally said, taking his wife in his arms. He wiped away her tears, despite ones of his own welling up inside him. "We need to be here for when he needs us. Sooner or later, he'll come out of there. And once that happens, we can support him."

"He was so in love with that poor girl..." Kaiyo said, looking at her son's bedroom door. "And she was madly in love with him. It's not fair, Shigeru. Why does he have to go through this? First he almost dies thanks to... _him._ Now this. It just isn't fair..."

"...I know it isn't." Shigeru said. "You and him have been through so much...I wish there was more I could for the two of you."

"Let's...leave him be for now." Kaiyo said. "I just hope he remembers to eat. He hasn't eaten anything since he came home."

The two of them walked downstairs, and sat down on the sofa, silent. The couple looked at each other, and he put his arm around her shoulder, holding her close.

"I promise I'll take care of you both. You understand? I'll never leave your side. Not yours, not Noburo's."

"Shigeru, I..." Kaiyo said. She leaned closer to him, and smiled. "Thank you...with you, I know things will be alright in the end. I'll make something for dinner. Do you think I should leave something for Noburo?"

"Might be a good idea. I'm sure he'll be hungry at some point." Shigeru said. As Kaiyo left to the kitchen, he let out a heavy sigh.

_So even Bythos can't control EX-NIHILO. What can they possibly hope to accomplish if their experiments run rampant, and ruin my son's life? I've got to do something. Hayashi is probably at the hospital with Murayama. I'll have to talk to them at one point and find out what their plans are. Then, I need to make sure everyone knows about what happened. Especially her._

He took out his Gnosis, making sure Kaiyo couldn't see it, and began composing a long message. It was time for an absent ally to rejoin the team, especially at this crucial moment. For right now, he couldn't focus on eliminating the threat of Bythos. He had to stay here, until he could begin to heal his son's broken heart.

**|Tarumi Promenade|17:00 pm|**

The Kansei students, not feeling particularly like going home yet, decided to go to Tarumi. Not the Kyutai Playhouse, of course, but the promenade, the calmest part of the area. Kohaku and Akari were leading the way, talking amongst themselves, and Shintaro and Kei followed close behind.

"Do you remember the last things Teruko said?" Shintaro asked. Kei looked at him, alarmed. "Sorry. Maybe we should save it for -"

"I do. She didn't sound like herself at all. And the EX-NIHILO seemed to sense some other presence within her. Her talk about wanting to die, the things she had done..."

"Teruko, right before then, was all about her future with Noburo. And the worst she did was mouth off at us." Shintaro said. "If someone else was trying to possess her, who was it?"

"I...don't know." Kei, looking to her right at the ocean waves. "The Gnosis she had was destroyed, so we won't be able to get any answers that way."

"Answers? To what?" Akari asked, as the group stopped.

"We were wondering about what happened to Teruko. How she went from a lifeless doll to speaking like a whole new person." Shintaro looked at Kohaku, pleadingly. Didn't someone have an answer for him? So he could avoid this crippling anxiety spreading throughout his heart?

"Well, I don't know." Kohaku said, tearfully. "I just wish last night had never happened. I mean...no, that's not quite right. If it had ended just as Toki and Noburo reunited..."

"If only my healing abilities were stronger." Akari lamented. "Why does the EX-NIHILO exist? How can we make it  _stop_  existing, forever?"

"The more we wonder, the more painful it'll be." Kei said. "Someday, we'll find out. We'll stop Nisa Liat and all her loyalists. That should put an end to EX-NIHILO, too."

"I was hoping after Natsumi, that'd be the end of it." Shintaro said. "What happened to her and Masato was bad enough. But..."

Suddenly, his phone rang. He gasped. Celestine was calling, and he had set the ring tone to a popular French pop song she had recommended him.

"...You should answer it." Kei said, somehow crossly.

Slowly, he accepted the call. Normally her voice would lift his spirits, but today, they couldn't cut through the gloom of the atmosphere.

"Hi..." He said, awkwardly.

"Shintaro, are you busy this weekend?" Celestine asked. "There's a great book festival planned in Hiyashi. I'm going to be giving a speech alongside some other local novelists. Perhaps you'd like to attend? We can have a meal afterwards...in fact, we can go for the Golden Dragon again."

The girls nearby exchanged uneasy looks. Their friend had met Celestine quite a few times now. Despite Shintaro's protests, they seemed to believe it had become somewhat more complicated than him being a fan of hers. And he was starting to believe it himself.

"...Are you okay, Shintaro-kun?" Celestine asked. "I heard something happened to a student at Kansei. If it was a friend of yours, I'm so sorry..."

"I'll be alright." Shintaro said, fighting back the tears. Alright was the last thing he felt right now. But perhaps, if he could see Celestine, she could help him express his pain. "...and yes. I'll come see you at the festival. I go there every year anyway."

"Well, if you're sure you're up to it. I don't you forcing yourself. I worry about you quite a bit, you hear? It can't be easy at Kansei right now. Or anywhere in this city. Please take care of yourself, Shintaro. Au revoir."

The call ended, and the others gazed at him in wonderment.

"Are you sure now is the best time for another date?" Kohaku asked, folding her arms.

"I'm not sure of anything right now..." Shintaro said, despondent. "But...I don't want to push her away. She's..."

"You're in love with her. Just say it already. Whenever you talk about her, it's written on your face. Even I can see it." Akari said.

"L-Love? I...I don't know about that, but...she's...really special..." Shintaro blurted out, face red.

"Perhaps it's best we try to carry on as normal," Kei said, albeit coldly. "If we pass out on these sorts of things, it'll drive us further into despair."

"But..." Kohaku began. "...We should be thinking about Noburo right now."

"Kei's got a point, though. Weren't you planning to go to some event Makino-san is planning? About teaching music in schools? You shouldn't miss out on that. I don't think Noburo would want us to be miserable..."

"...Maybe. I wouldn't mind talking to Aika again. She might be able to help me get through this..." Kohaku wondered.

Kei didn't seem much happier at this suggestion, but nodded. "You two shouldn't stop trying to enjoy your lives. But remember what's most important. We still have to get the next four Cognition Cores and dismantle Bythos."

"I know." Akari said. "But while we're here..."

"Huh? What's up, Akari-chan?"

Akari didn't answer Kohaku's question, and instead went down the steps to the beach. After much consideration, she found a gorgeous blue and white seashell. She picked it up, and pressed it into a clean patch of wet sand. Swiftly, she etched Teruko's full name, in kanji.

"Noburo was telling us how much she loved it here. And I can see why. When you gaze at these waves, no matter what time of year, you feel at peace, don't you?"

"You know something? I sort of do." Shintaro said.

"It's a beautiful spot, at every angle." Kohaku gazed out as far as she could, and smiled. "It's almost enchanting."

"I've not had much of an opportunity to come here, but I can see what you mean. My worries seem less when I'm on the sand, and the waves come towards you." Kei said.

Maybe she didn't like us that much, but I hope wherever she is, she can be at peace." Akari said, hopefully. "Let's make this a memorial she'd be proud of."

The others nodded, and held their hands together, in prayer. Shintaro, Kohaku, and Kei added their own seashells above Akari's, and left, leaving an empty beach with the sounds of seagulls chirping. With that, Teruko would always be at Tarumi beach, the one place she loved more than any movie theatre.

_Goodbye, Teruko Yoshikawa. We'll watch over Noburo from now on._

**|Noburo's Room|17:30 pm|**

On the windowsill of the room were several framed photographs. One of which was from Shigeru and Kaiyo's wedding, in which the happily married man proudly had Noburo sitting on his shoulders. There were others of various moments in the boy's life, but there was one taken months ago, during the Spring Break.

He was dressed in his best white shirt and black tie, and next to time was Teruko in her beautiful fuchsia dress, her hair tied in a ponytail with a white ribbon. They were all smiles, standing on the promenade, with the full moon casting its magnificent light on the clear waves.

Back then, it had just been a typical date, to celebrate them going to the same high school, and with any luck, the same class. The future seemed bright for the pair, who had known each other for years. Now, to think about that date, Noburo felt nothing but deep sorrow.

"Why...why?!" He screamed, gazing deep into her eyes in the photograph. "Why did you have to go...?!"

It felt like no matter where he looked, he could see the EX-NIHILO, forcing his beloved to fight on its behalf. It had been an ordeal to face her, in the hope she could overcome this oppression. If she had just been fortunate like the twins, she might still be here. Perhaps he could have talked her round to accepting the others as friends, rather than threats to her relationship. She might have supported him in getting to know Toki.

_What's the point anymore...?! My dream of being on the stage was dashed, but as long as I had Teruko, everything would have been fine! But now she's gone, what's the point? Mum and Dad keep trying to get me to leave this room, but..._

Everything seemed futile now. Him becoming a Persona user didn't seem to have brought him much joy. Whatever happiness he had attained by reuniting properly with Toki seemed to have fleeted already.

Kaii must still be in hospital, Noburo thought, suddenly thinking of his brother. _Kaii, you and Toki really weren't the ones who gave her that Gnosis, were you? You were only trying to help. But it's too late now. For her, and for me..._

_Should I even go back to school, just to see that empty seat? Or have to deal with everyone's platitudes of sympathy? Only my senpai would understand, and...I don't get to be with them during classes. What should I do, Teruko? How do I go on without you?_

His eyes were still tearful, after quite some time crying. As he stood up from the plush chair, he looked at his phone. There were quite a few messages from his friends from school, but the one he opened was the most recent. It was Kohaku's.

**Noburo, I want you to know we're all thinking of you. Please, don't worry about us. We'll wait for you as long as it takes. If there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Akari said she's going to visit Kaii tomorrow, in case you wanted to see him.**

"Kohaku-senpai..."

His eyes welled up with tears once more. Every time he had been around Kohaku, he knew she was an honest, kind-hearted young woman. Right now, he didn't know when, or if, he'd return to being a Persona user, let alone a student of Kansei.

_Kaii...I shouldn't forget about him. He could have been another victim. He's still my brother...I'm going to see him too. I might see my dad, as well. He'll be worried sick about me, bless him. Just like everyone else._

He walked over to his bedroom door, as the smell of his mother's cooking wafted in. As long as it wasn't miso soup, he tended to greedily devour her meals.

_I'm going downstairs. I have to face my parents at some point. And I still need to eat..._

He finally left his room, and headed down the carpeted stairs towards the dining room. Although silent, he was at least able to eat the pork cutlet with rice, and keep it down. His parents looked on, concerned, but he couldn't quite bring himself to talk. Not yet.

_She you always used to love eating with us. You even liked that damn soup. If only you could have come round one more time. How do I deal with our unfulfilled feelings?_

**|Gold Laguna Hotel|18:00 pm|**

The atmosphere was tense in the suite today. Of the senior members of the team, four had arrived. With Shigeru trying everything he could to support his son, the others had gathered to share their thoughts.

"...I'm still in shock." Novalie said. "Teruko was only 15. She had so much planned in her future, and Noburo was part of it every step of the way."

"It doesn't make sense. How could she be gone? It was only days ago that we put her through those virtual battle tests." Reia said, bitterly. "EX-NIHILO...I want to tear it apart. It doesn't deserve any studies."

"But how many times do we have to defeat it?" Netuno said. "Shouldn't we try to get more information about it? The more me know, the better chance we have of stopping it from repeating this!"

"Teruko wasn't much older than my daughter." Hiroyuki said, arms crossed. "She was an only child. Her parents might never recover from this. If anything like happened to my Kaori..."

"When I think about it..." Novalie said. "It's really like Nisa Liat has opened Pandora's Box. Already, a large number of people have died. Like your friend's fiance, Netuno..."

"I know. I ain't gonna forget about that. We gotta do what we can for Shigeru. He's our boss, after all. Tough as he looks, this is going to be rough on him." Netuno said. "Right now, we have to work on what to do next."

"Right. We need to be pre-emptive, more now than ever." Reia said. "I've been doing some research on Bythos, actually. You guys familiar with Svante Solberg?"

"...Is that a Swedish beer?" Netuno asked, puzzled.

"As a general rule, you shouldn't be the first one to answer." Reia said. "Novalie, you told me you were doing a business class in college, and his name came up as part of your studies. You'll know all about him, right?"

"Not everything. To keep it basic, Svante is a Swedish businessman -"

"I was half right, then!"

After dodging one of Reia's sharp coloured pencils, Novalie continued.

" - who owns a Japanese branch of a fashion & furntiure company, 'Aramis'. While very popular in Europe, especially the Nordic countries, their products have surged in popularity in overseas markets. Thus, they built a Japanese HQ here in Shinshuto, and Svante – the CEO's youngest son – was put in charge."

"Both my wife and daughter like their stuff. Their men's range is way too glitzy for me, though. I'm a simple guy when it comes to fashion." Hiroyuki said. "So what's with this Svante man? Is he involved with something worse than tacky t-shirts?"

"You could say that. I've done some digging, and you know those uniforms the regular Bythos soldiers are wearing?" Reia asked. "They're heavily customised, but from my analysis, they're Aramis produced."

"...What?" Netuno asked. "I did think those uniforms were a little too well-made, but..."

"Not just that. There's been some strange stories going on. Rumours about a massive re-structuring. Employees mysteriously becoming sick or being fired, and then barely appearing in public. Most of it's under the radar thanks to the other scandals in the news." Reia said. "Basically, Aramis Japan might just be in league with Bythos."

"Then we might just have to arrive without an appointment."

The others gasped. Another woman had arrived, dressed in a purple coat. She adjusted her glasses, and smiled.

"Shigeru told me everything." She said. "The time has come for me to finally overcome my Persona problem, and become useful to everyone. Especially after what happened to one of my own students."

"It's great to have you back, Michiko." Novalie said, joyously. "I've been worrying about you since you stopped coming to our meetings."

"I know. I'm sorry, everyone." Michiko Suzuki walked to the sofa towards the window, and sat between the girls. "But I'm here to stay now. With Shigeru out of the picture, I have to do what I can to make up for his absence."

"Don't worry. We'll do what we can to support you." Hiroyuki said, warmly.

"How do you think your students will react when they find out their Suzuki-sensei is a Persona user like them?" Netuno asked. "It's gonna blow their freaking minds!"

"...Not that you have much of a mind." Reia remarked, prompting a chuckle from Hiroyuki.

"Oh, I think they'll get used to the idea in time. They can consider it extra tuition." Michiko said, with a mischievous wink. However, she turned serious. "I must protect them all. Let me work on controlling Nidaba properly. In the mean time, let's focus on how we're going to handle Svante Solberg and his affiliate."


	27. Castle of Conceit

**May 10th|Gold Laguna Hotel|16:30 pm|**

The team had received a summons courtesy of Hiroyuki to arrive to the hotel after school to discuss an 'upcoming mission'. Uneasy, Shintaro had debated in his head whether to go. Yet his allies, despite some hesitation, had unanimously decided to attend the briefing. Thus, he went with them.

"...Welcome." Hiroyuki said.

"Things at Kansei must be tough right now..." Novalie said. "Truth is, after what happened, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep going."

"But we must." Shintaro said. "Otherwise, more people will suffer."

"Yeah. We have to work harder to make up for Noburo and Shigeru being absent." Netuno said. "Which is why we've brought in a new face. Well, I say new, but...you kids will recognise her in a heartbeat."

"Huh? Oh, that's right, you guys have six members." Masato said. "But one of them wasn't doing too well and took some time off."

"Things have changed considerably since then. With the situation the way it is now, she decided she had to come and help, and force her Persona to co-operate." Hiroyuki said. "Come on in...Michiko."

_Huh? But the only Michiko I know is – oh my god, is it -_

The door opened, and walking in was the ever poised teacher Shintaro knew and respected. Except now she was clad in a purple and silver coat, and black leggings, a less restrictive outfit than her usual skirts and shirts. That curly hair, however, Shintaro would know from anywhere.

"Suzuki-sensei?!" Kohaku exclaimed.

"Oh my god! She's a Persona user?" Akari said.

"Quite." Michiko said. "Relax. In this world, I'm here to fight Shadows and offer my assistance in information gathering. We can save your education for the other Kosmos."

"...Why didn't you say anything?" Shintaro asked. "You've known about us for a while, haven't you?"

"Shigeru and I knew each other even before this happened. After all, Kansei and Chieki have been inundated with accolades since they were founded, and he's keen to make sure we're doing our job as teachers. And he seemed to agree with my methods. He's quite intimidating, but you've gotten to know him quite well by now." Michiko said. "When he told me my own students were fighting Shadows...well..."

"She was pretty pissed off, to be honest." Netuno said, shuddering. "Shigeru had to keep apologising to her for letting you all get involved. But he continued to vouch for your battle performance."

"I'm still not wild about people your age fighting. Especially my favourite students..." She said, looking at Kohaku and Shintaro. She also glanced at Akari and Kei. "But it sounds like you're getting stronger with every day. I'll have to do what I can to help."

The twins, who had been quiet now, finally got her attention.

"And I didn't expect Hideki's family to be involved either. It's not been easy, keeping secrets from him." Michiko said, smirking. "He does like to talk about you two a lot."

"Really?" Masato asked, uneasy.

"Really. Even that time you cried over ruining that birthday cake."

Natsumi giggled, but Masato's face went red. The others stared at each other in amusement, until the playful teacher cleared her throat.

"In all seriousness, though...with Shigeru out of action for the foreseeable, I'm going to have to work even harder on looking out for you. That goes for both school and our work here. Understood? I don't want you falling short of my expectations."

"Yes, Suzuki-sensei." Kei said.

"Wait a minute. That day you went to speak to Suzuki-sensei after school, was that about this?" Shintaro asked, suddenly remembering that moment. With everything else that had transpired that day, it had slipped his mind, but he did wonder what exactly Kei had wanted to talk about.

"Actually...no." Kei said, albeit tensely. "That was something else..."

_Are you sure? You don't seem surprised at all. Or maybe nothing fazes you anymore._

"That's something between the two of us." Michiko said. "Hiroyuki, we need to fill them in on our next mission. The sooner, the better."

"That's right. Tonight, we're going to infiltrate Aramis Japan's HQ. Right here in Shinshuto."

The group was silent, but as they listened to the details, they became shocked. Natsumi in particular loved the clothes the Swedish company produced, and a lot of her casual outfits contained at least one of their items. The uniforms the likes of Hisaya and Aritomo had – were they truly part of Aramis? The images that Reia had put together comparing various articles of clothing did appear quite well researched.

"Svante Solberg..." Masato said, fixated on the name. "Oh! Evelina-senpai! That's one of her relatives, isn't it?"

"We did our research, yes..." Hiroyuki said. "Svante moved to Japan with his wife Ester and his mother Marta. And his daughter, Evelina – who lived in Gothenburg until 2008."

"Has Evelina ever said anything about her father's business to you?" Novalie asked.

"N-No, not really. Not that we've really been able to hang out with them." Natsumi said. "She's always with another boy in the year above us."

"Her crush..." Masato said, smirking.

"Stop it! It's not just me who likes Toshiaki-senpai!" Natsumi said.

"But is it just you who puts homemade sweets in his shoe locker?" Masato asked.

"Guys, enough!" Hiroyuki said, annoyed. "We've investigated Aramis HQ, in a building in Hiyashi they call the  **Trinité Château.**  There are several areas that are highly guarded with Shadows – we're going to test the one on the ground floor. Normally, that's used for the technical support team of the building."

"So Bythos at least are using their building in this world..." Shintaro said. "But what are we hoping to gain from this?"

"Hopefully, more concrete details on Bythos' relationship with Aramis. If we can do something to hinder that friendship, it should put Bythos at a disadvantage." Michiko said. "Although we may face Bythos themselves there..."

"Keiya and Asami are still against us...plus, the other ones we don't know about." Kohaku said. "Are there nine in total?"

"Yes. There's no way of knowing for sure who the other five are...so speculating will only hinder you." Michiko said, wisely. "Better the devil you know, they say. We'll need to be prepared for whatever we face. Shadows aren't the only threat in this world."

Although uneasy, Shintaro had no choice but to steel himself. Another encounter with the EX-NIHILO could just be around the corner, however. He had to prepare himself for that possibility.

**|Komatsu Household – Lounge|17:02 pm|**

Shigeru had received a very grim phone call from Mrs. Yoshikawa. Teruko's funeral would be held the next week. Almost as soon as he had been told the date, the call had ended – with sounds of crying.

"That poor woman..." Kaiyo said, close by. "What she's going through..."

"It could have been Noburo." Shigeru said, as he put the phone down. "That's exactly what's been going through my head. It's nothing any parent should have to go through."

"...Yuko is still suffering." Kaiyo said. "She won't even talk to me anymore. Or to any of her old friends. All because of what happened to her little girl. And now Teruko's family are going through the same hell. What can I do to help, Shigeru?"

"For them, I'm not sure..." Shigeru said, gently. "For now, we need to be here for Noburo."

"I hope he doesn't miss too much more of school. Not just because of his studies, but...he needs his friends there. He needs to go on living, for Teruko's sake. And his own. At least we've been able to have dinner together."

"But he never says a word to either of us." Shigeru said, exasperated. "There's got to be something I can do."

"Listen, you need to keep yourself calm as well." Kaiyo said, squeezing her husband's hand. "Especially with next week. I hate funerals...I just never thought I'd go to one for a child."

"...Me either."

With Noburo still in his bedroom, he didn't seem like he'd be fighting with Aengus any time soon. And Shigeru knew he couldn't abandon him.

_What a disaster this has become. Yoko is still hounding me about getting the Cognition Cores. No matter how much I tell her we can trust Kakusa, she insists we do more research into them. Does she think they'll bring Noriko back to life? I need to do something...but I want to be here for my son._

"Everything was going brilliantly, until Bythos caused all this chaos." Kaiyo said, angrily. "I understand why they had to cancel  _Death By Moonlight_ , but...all those riots. It wasn't just Teruko who got hurt. And now everyone's suddenly calmed down. I wish I knew what to do at a time like this."

"All you can do is be there for Noburo." Shigeru said. It had been his sole thought since the painful moment they came back home. Yet sooner or later, he would have to deal with Toki, Kaii, and the Theio Kosmos.

_Must I align myself with Hayashi and Murayama? They're connected to Noburo by blood, unlike myself. Even so, I must make sure everything that happens forth is in his best interests. If their actions harm him, then I will never forgive them._

**|Trinité Chateau, Aramis HQ|17:12 pm|**

"Taro-kun, you've been enjoying the company of a French woman recently. What's the French for 'really big'?" Masato asked.

"Vraiment gros." Shintaro said. "I knew French before I met Celestine, okay? She just helped me refine my skills a little. But this building sure is big, no arguments here."

"And it's kind of pretty. Sure beats that awful TV Studio..." Kohaku said, in admiration.

The building was largely away from the hustle and bustle of Hiyashi, surrounded mostly by empty green land and residential areas. However, it was a grand facility, a mixture of grey with blue windows. Designed by a French architect, the foyer was in a pyramid-like building, surrounded by a beautiful pond filled with large koi fish. The main building, however, was connected to it, as three inter-connected towers, each with a pointed roof. The left most was the shortest, followed by the right, and the middle one at the rear was the tallest. It very much seemed like a modern take on a castle, albeit one with a huge white and blue sign that displayed the company name in capital letters.

"It's quite striking. Eleven whole storeys for one business." Novalie said, a little intimidated. "Look to the right of the eastern building. They actually have a store on this building. Mostly used for filming incredibly pretentious and incomprehensible advertisements, but customers can go there freely."

"Yeah, I've been there plenty of times." Natsumi said. "Although I can't afford most of their really good stuff."

"That's where I come in. I make my really good stuff available to all." Reia said, smirking.

"How do we get access to the basement? Can we just walk through the front door?" Masato asked. "Or do we have to smash it in?"

"You do that, we'll draw the attention of the Shadows and we'll have to retreat." Reia said. "Hiroyuki, aren't you supposed to rein in this boy's destructive urges? Y'know, be the super responsible mentor type?"

"I thought I had taught him a lesson, after I stopped him mauling Keiya in public." the soldier said, tutting – with a sly smirk. "Come on, boy, we've got to follow a plan here. We can still go through the shop without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Then we can work on eluding the security cameras."

The team made their way towards the shop of the building, watching carefully for any roving eyes. Shintaro listened carefully for any suspicious sounds, but heard nothing. Perhaps they were all clear. Or anyone watching had perfected total silence...

**|Aramis HQ – Grand Store|17:20 pm|**

The store was built across several levels, with quite a large amount of floorspace. Natsumi gazed in admiration at the rows of posh handbags, while Hiroyuki seemed intrigued by the smart business ties.

"Makes a change from my military outfits." He said. "Never got in the habit of wearing suits. But the wife always did like it when I dressed up."

"Um..." Shintaro said. "Why is it so dark in here?"

" **What, you're no good at seeing in the dark? I'm not having any trouble! None whatsoever!"**

The Kansei student gasped, calling upon his rapier. A strange Shadow dropped from the ceiling of the store, nimbly leaping from one of the overhanging lights to the other. The Gnosis identified it as Neko Shogun.

"Aww, it's a kitty!" Akari said, her face glowing with excitement. "And way cuter than the Kabuso you showed me before, Kei!"

" **H-Huh? Why are you looking at me like that, meow?!"** The cat samurai said, hissing.  **"Who the heck are you guys?"**

"We're your friends, here to look after you. And it looks like your fur needs a good brushing." Akari said, with a sinister smile, her eyes practically glowing as well. "It's been a while since I've had a chance to look after a cat. Be good for your new mommy Akari-chan, okay?"

"...I'm more scared of her than that thing." Hiroyuki said.

"Same..." Masato said, edging closer to the military man.

"I'll handle this." Michiko said. She pulled out what appeared to be silver hilts with both hands, but these immediately produced bright pink energy blades. "It's time to put an end to you, Shadow. Consider this your expulsion.  **Nidaba** , come forth!"

Out of the blue smoke came a tan-skinned goddess, who wore a navy dress made out of countless shimmering beads and dark flowing fabic. Her hair was likewise long and flowing, dense and lavender in colour, reaching her feet. Adorning this impressive mane was a silver horned tiara, that appeared to have incorporated ears of grain and a crescent moon.

"Wow..." Natsumi said. "She's so beautiful! I love her!"

"Nidaba. The Sumerian goddess of writing, learning, and the harvest." Shintaro said.

"With you and Suzuki-sensei, we really don't need the Compendium in the Gnosis." Kei said, chuckling. The bookworm blushed, while Michiko laughed heartily.

Nidaba clicked her fingers, and in her hand came a giant leather book, the cover of which was blue and had a huge red tassel. In the other hand appeared a giant quill, made of lurid turquoise and pink feathers.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Nidaba, she who keeps records of those who need my aid and my wrath.** "

The feline Shadow snarled, baring it's fangs, and tried to bite the summoner – but was blocked in its tracks.

"Waste no time, Nidaba! Skyward Scribe!"

Gracefully, Nidaba made her book float in the air, and open to a blank page. With a quick jot of her quill, which began to glow green and blue, a huge whirlwind of the same colours sent the Shadow flying back into the same lights, banging into each of them. The sounds were quite cacophonous, of a cat shrieking in agony and the loud din of each bell-shaped light crashing into their surroundings.

"Incredible!" Shintaro said.

"I'll say. You didn't even paws to come up with a cat pun." Netuno said.

"I'll claw your throat out if you keep that up." Reia said, cracking her knuckles.

The Shadow hadn't quite perished from his foe's assault. Advancing, it prepared to strike – but it found its weapon was no match for the combined laser sword and knife Michiko swung out.

" **Meow! You jerk! You just wait until that security lady gets you! Yeah, the one all the Shadows are talking about! She's way scarier than the other ladies in her group!"**

"Wait!" Novalie said. "What other women do you know from Bythos?"

The Shadow didn't answer her, but instead vanished into darkness. The team looked at each other, uneasily.

"So an Aeon Admin could be here. That complicates things." Reia said, anxious. "From the sounds of it, it's not one of the four we know."

"Security lady?" Hiroyuki said, worried. "Hmm..."

"Something bothering you, Soldier Man?" Netuno asked.

_Soldier Man? Is he phoning in these nicknames? I hope he doesn't come up with one for me..._

"It's nothing, Netuno. I'm just concerned we could run into danger. The other Shadows hanging around could be even worse than that mangy cat." Hiroyuki said, calmly.

"We're used to danger by now. We  _have_  to be, after what happened during my absence." Michiko looked around, and saw a door marked as 'Authorised Personnel Only'. "Let's get to work. But we should be ready to escape at any time."

"Don't worry, Suzuki-sensei. We'll be careful." Shintaro said, hand over his chest.

Reia used an app on her Gnosis to simulate an ID scan, and thus, the way was clear. They ventured through a series of corridors, until they eventually reached the Lobby of the main building.

**|Aramis HQ – Lobby|17:35 pm|**

"These are the ugliest chairs I've ever seen." Hiroyuki said, gazing at a rather angular orange monstrosity the company expected their visitors to sit on.

"Really? But I like orange..." Kohaku said, sadly.

"Even on that abomination?!" Reia asked, her eyes wide with horror.

"To her, orange makes anything better." Shintaro said, smirking.

"Seriously? Why orange when purple exists?" Reia shook her head in dismay, while Michiko sighed.

"Ahem. Where do we go from here?" Novalie asked, looking around.

"There's a barrier on the fifth floor, meaning we can't go any higher until we figure out how to get past it. For now, however, we're going to explore this floor. Let's go further on to one of their IT rooms."

Following Reia's instructions the team waded through several offices – and battled several Shadows along the way. It didn't seem to faze anyone anymore – they summoned their Persona and slaughtered all the foes that dared to face them.

_Why must violence become routine? If only using this sword was something I only read about. I didn't even want to join the Fencing Team at Kansei last year..._

**|Aramis HQ – Tech Support Hub|17:45 pm|**

A rather plainly decorated room, even in this dimension, the room had at least ten computer desks, and many trays and shelves full of computer-related books and accessories. Reia was briefly fascinated by one employee's Atari ST, a computer that had been popular in Europe.

"Phew, getting here was a bit of a struggle..." Novalie said, clutching her arm. "And to think all my classmates at college are partying."

"Relax, Novalie-san, we're almost finished for today." Michiko said. She took a computer by the windows, and with her and Reia's expertise, managed to get inside the Aramis Network. "Hmm..."

"What's wrong, Suzuki-sensei?" Kohaku asked.

"This computer's running awfully slowly." Michiko said, tapping the ground with her feet in impatience. "We'll make a copy of the important files and transfer it to one of Reia's flash drivers. Although we might be here some time."

"Strange. These computers look pretty up-to-date..." Reia said, confused, as she aided Michiko. She retrieved a purple and pink metallic USB flash drive, and as soon as she put it into the computer, it began downloading masses of data, approaching 512 GB.

"Of course, the hard part is figuring out how much of this data is useful to us..." Hiroyuki said.

"I'm sure Netuno will be more than happy to assist Reia." Michiko said, brightly. "Right, Netty?"

"Is this just the night for bad nicknames?" Shintaro asked.

"It's something we did when we first met each other. Trying to think of lame nicknames, just to break the ice." Reia said, smirking. "As for this data, I think I can handle filtering through it myself. But there are a lot of strange applications on here. In fact...look at this."

She launched a program marked as 'PERSONA ARTIFICER', a minimalistic program in black and green colours. The minute it opened, it began displaying bizarre text:

**ERROR: Connection to Shadow-Persona Server not available. Please resume connection before attempting to activate new Gnosis device.**

**Searching for Blank Gnosis devices...**

**Found: 0**

**Searching for True Gnosis devices...**

**Found: 11**

"This looks like it's for giving blank Gnosis devices a Persona. So like what the Claret and Azure Squads had." Reia said. "Of course, we don't have any empty terminals on hand. But each of us has a true one."

"Why would this program be on here, though?" Shintaro asked.

"Perhaps they needed technical expertise to fine tune this program. And once it was finished, they installed it wherever their main server is." Michiko said. "The computer technicians at Aramis are highly regarded, after all. But we can analyse this program more efficiently once we return to the hotel."

"Wait, what's this?" Netuno asked, pointing to a file named 'NorikoA'. Reia opened it, and it was a text document. It read:

**BREAKING NEWS – _N_ oriko Ash _i_ kaga (15), daughter of Mayor Yoko A _s_ hikag _a_  of Shinshuto City, has died in hospita _l_  overn _i_ ght from gunshot wounds.**

**The shooting took pl _a_ ce outside of Mo _t_ oi M _i_ ddle  _S_ chool, when upon the end of the school day, a  _m_ an report _e_ d to be in his late thirties emerged outside of his vehicle, a blue sedan, and fired indiscriminately towards the students.**

**No other students wereinjured, however Noriko was shot in the chest. While still breathing when the paramedics took her to Hanashima Hospital, she passed away from her injuries at 4:00 am, despite attempts to revive her.**

**The suspect has yet to be identified at this time, and is currently in police custody.**

"The mayor's daughter? She died...?" Novalie said, stunned. "I've only been in Shinshuto a short time, I never knew about this."

"It was huge news at the time." Hiroyuki said. "The man who did it was an anti-government lunatic, who had broken out of jail. He was convinced that all systems of government was wrong, and that we should all be free to rule ourselves...and he must have thought that killing that innocent girl was the way towards that goal."

"He was given the death penalty, wasn't he?" Akari asked.

"Indeed. It's not something Shigeru likes to talk about. He and the Mayor are good friends, of course, but ever since Noriko died, she's become obsessed with her work. She doesn't want any time to herself. If she had a spare moment, she'd end up thinking about Noriko..."

"Noburo probably was friends with her too, right?" Shintaro asked.

"I guess so, but she was a bit older than him. She would have been eighteen this year. Before she could get accepted into high school, she died..." Hiroyuki said, sadly.

"Why is this here, though?" Masato asked. "I mean, it's a terrible story, but it doesn't make sense for it to be on Aramis' computers. Or does Bythos have something to do with Noriko's death?"

"What?" Natsumi said. "Bythos weren't even around three years ago. Maybe they have some plan to taunt the Mayor over this?"

"I don't know about that." Michiko said, disturbed. "It must be here for a reason, however. Reia, are we almost done?"

"53.43% complete. There's a lot more here than I expected. Now -"

Suddenly, there was a flashing red light, and the sound of a shrill alarm. Everyone gasped, and Akari screamed at the sound.

"...Shit." Reia said. "Shit!"

"Crap. Can't we just warp back to the hotel?" Hiroyuki asked.

"We can't! There's an anti-Aeon block on this building! We have to get out of this place, now!" Reia said. "This data will have to do for now!" She snagged the stick, and the group stormed out of the room. Shadows were everywhere, going by the Gnosis.

"We'll split up and get out of here as quick as possible. Everyone, hurry!" Michiko said.

Before long, Shintaro was running, and panting for breath, with his teacher by his side. Also accompanying him were Netuno, Akari, and Kei. While the rest had gone for the various fire exists, his team were going towards the front door.

**|Artemis HQ – Lobby|18:01 pm|**

"Looks like it's just us to make it out of the building!" Netuno said, running frantically.

"Hurry, everyone! We don't have time to lose!" Michiko said.

The five had reached the lobby, but to their dismay, there was a blue energy wall blocking the front door.

"Shit!" Shintaro said. "How will we get out of here?"

"In my custody, obviously."

The group gasped. Out of nowhere, bullets were fired, shattering all the glass around the group. Then, several panels from the ceiling fell, breaking into pieces. Leaping to the floor was a stern faced, athletic woman in a tight purple vest and jeans, combined with purple boots. She aimed her black pistols at everyone, eyeing them angrily.

"Holy shit!" Shintaro yelled.

"So it's just as that mangy cat samurai said..." Akari said.

"You should have known better than to break in one of our backers' facilities. What amateurs." The woman said, coldly. Her voice was sharp and authoritative – almost like a police officer's. "And the Wild Card is here, too. That's perfect. Listen carefully. I am of the Aeon Administrators of Bythos. My name is Rinaka Tamura."

"Really? Never heard of you." Netuno said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Were you expecting me to be the lead of a terrible rockband as well?" Rinaka asked, snidely. "I know of you, Mr. Fonseca. Do you still hate us for what happened to your friend's pathetic lover?"

"How dare you!" Michiko said, disgusted, stepping forward. "Your group destroyed her hopes for the future! Was it you who did the deed?"

"Not me...I just happen to work closely with the one who carried out the deed." Rinaka said. "In truth, I was backup that night. But he succeeded with flying colours."

"Tell me his name, now!" Netuno demanded, irate.

"I'm not about to reveal his identity! I'm not here to give you a chance to kill him. As I said, I'm here to capture you." Rinaka said. "I'll subdue you all and take you to Nisa Liat. She'll be eager to see how much pain you can endure. Then it's a simple matter of finding the ones who did manage to escape."

"You're quite the dreamer, Tamura-san." Kei said, slyly. "But you'll have to get through me first. And your allies know by now how dangerous the Wild Card power can be..."

Rinaka laughed out loud, surrounded by a blue aura.

"Don't make me laugh. Children like you are just being exploited by that fucking self-righteous bitch called Mayor! You have no idea just what she turns a blind eye to! So blind, all of you. Let this be an enlightening battle. Breksta, you must appear!"

Rushing out of the smoke was a curvaceous female with a body that seemed both mechanical and organic. In her left hand, she was carrying a huge, sleek black rifle, that seemed to have glowing red lights all over it. In her right hand, was what seemed to be a huge rocket launcher. Most of her body was covered in a tight-leather outfit, that exposed a fair amount of cleavage – although the skin aside from her face seemed to be made from light blue metal. Her eyes were pure yellow, the face was snow white, and her hair was long, silken and silver in colour.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Breksta, she who keeps watch over the world from sunset til sunrise."**

Shintaro gulped. He had seem plenty of feminine Personas during his forays into the Theio Kosmos, but none of them had weapons quite as mammoth as Breksta's. Still, he had to go on, so that all could escape this building with their lives.

"Rinaka, your friends couldn't beat us. And neither will you! We'll show to you just how misguided you are!"

She scoffed, and fired some shots. The battle had begun, and a bloodbath awaited all involved.

**|Hanashima Hospital|18:15 pm|**

Kaii was still in the same room, but with some help, he was able to walk – on crutches, but at least able to stand up. Now, however, he was sitting on a comfy chair, pouring a cup of water.

"You had any other visitors?" Toki asked.

"No, not yet. Akari was going to come, apparently, but she ended up having to do something with her parents, so she'll come another time." Kaii said. "So it's just you and me, once again."

"Probably just as well. More time to spend with your new admirers." Toki said, winking."

"Dad, they're called 'nurses'." Kaii said. "...You mind me calling you dad?"

Toki shook his head. "No, you dummy. I've missed hearing it."

"Well, you're gonna be hearing it a lot from now on." Kaii said, happily. "...Huh?" He was now looking out of the ward's window, and saw someone approaching. "We've got company."

"What the – it's him!" Toki said, standing up. Walking up to the door was a nervous, and still gloomy, Noburo. He opened the door, with an uneasy expression. The Aeon Admins were quiet, not quite sure where to look, or what to say.

"Um..." Noburo said. "I'm sorry I didn't come over earlier..."

Kaii shook his head, and despite his injuries, grabbed his brother's hand.

"Doesn't matter. You didn't have to come all the way here just to see me..."

"...Are you going to be okay?" Noburo asked. "You look like you're in a lot of pain..."

"Looks can be deceiving. But not this time. I can hobble about on crutches, but..." The young man shook his head. "I'm going to be in here for a few more days. After that...well, I might as well tell you know. Toki's asked me to live with him."

"Really?" Noburo asked, surprised. Toki nodded, and took out his phone, showing a picture of the apartment building.

"It's probably not as nice as your big house, but it's a got a lot of room." The former actor said. "And a good view of Asakita. Luckily, I'm good friends with the landlord, so with a bit of charm, we can have the dog too."

Noburo seemed pleased by this news, as he managed to smile.

"Course, I still need to fully recover, before I can even think about Shadows." Kaii said. He turned to his brother with a coy smile. "But...next time I tussle with those freaks, I'm gonna be on your team."

"What?" The boy asked, surprised.

"That's if you want me. And I guess Shigeru has to say it's okay too." The pained Aeon said. "...I really don't want to go back with Bythos. I can't stand anyone there. Well...except Toki, of course. He's still one of the coolest guys I've ever met. Even cooler, knowing who he really is now."

"Then if you're leaving Bythos..." Noburo looked to his father, curious. "What will you do? Are you quitting too?"

"To be honest, I wish I could just do that." Toki said. "But it's not that easy. Kid...someone on Bythos gave Teruko that Gnosis. The one with that damn monster inside it!" He angrily banged his fist against the armrest of his chair, seething with rage at the thought. "If I stay with them, I can get to the bottom of it. I want to know who gave her that damn Gnosis."

"So you're...pretending to still be loyal to Nisa Liat?" Noburo asked.

"That's the plan. I know I'm not so good with planning, but I'm an actor, remember? I can fake a good story. As far as the other Admins know, both of you two still hate me and have teamed up to take me down, and I'm distraught, and Nisa Liat is my last hope." Toki said.

"Wow. That sounds intense." Kaii said. "Can you really pretend to be that outraged?"

"I've felt a lot of outrage over my 48 years, you know. Mostly at myself, after I stopped blaming others for how bad my life ended up." Toki said, bitterly. "Trust me, I can fool them all. And whoever did it – whether it was Asami, Keiya, Rinaka – I'll make them pay. No, screw that. I'll kill them, right where they stand."

"Dad...please calm down. You're in a hospital, remember?" Noburo said, cautiously.

Toki took a deep breath, and looked up, apologetic.

"Sorry. I just...I hate seeing what this is doing to you." He said. "Mark my words, my boy. We'll get justice for Teruko. And I'll do what I can to make Bythos as a whole suffer, too."

"...I just wish I could have said goodbye." Noburo said, tearful again. "I..."

As he cried once again, his father took him in his arms, tearful himself.

**|Artemis HQ – 18:20 pm||**

Rinaka was an agile woman, clearly highly trained in combat. It seemed hard to land any sort of attack on her, as she darted all over the battlefield, even leaping over their heads, and her Persona had quite some power.

"Breksta, strike!"

The curvaceous Persona swayed to the side, as she fired a black missile seemingly made of darkness itself. Its cursed trajectory could not be evaded, as Shintaro found out.

"Argh!" He groaned. "Damn you! Garula!"

A great gust of wind came hurtling towards Rinaka, as directed by Ogma. She stood her ground, but her diligence wasn't enough, as she ended up in Netuno's warpath.

"Damn you to hell!" He yelled. "Your group destroyed my friend's happiness..."

"You believe happiness is anything but fleeting? You're so childish..." Rinaka said. "Argh!" His guitar flew into her, actually creating a small jolt of electricity. "Shit, that garish guitar..."

"Tam Kung! Now!"

A high-pressure Aques blasted Rinaka, soaking her and the surrounding area. Swearing loudly, she leapt up, and fired bullet after bullet into her musician enemy. She saw Akari and Kei advancing, however, and jumped even higher on top of one of the giant chandeliers, just avoiding their own melee strikes.

"You'll never reach me like that..." She scoffed.

"Eat this!" Michiko yelled. "Nidaba! Page of History!"

The educated goddess, with her mind alone, opened her book. Pages shot out, sharp as knives. However, Rinaka was able to avoid most of them, capable of ducking and jumping over them as required. Then she suddenly came tumbling to the ground, the chandelier having been cut down – leaving a severed electrical cable hanging loosely over the room.

"You fucking – die already!" Rinaka yelled. While she fired with one hand, she quickly used her Gnosis to conjure an item in her possession. It was a grenade, a large and dark green one. She hurled it, and it exploded near Akari, sending her flying.

"Ito!" Michiko yelled, scrambling to reach her student.

"I'm...fine..." Akari whined, getting to her feet. Rinaka quickly reloaded – and kicked Shintaro hard in the stomach as he tried to get near. "But...she's...tougher than I thought."

"You're better than you think. You can beat this pathetic Tamura. I know you can. I'll help you find the way." Michiko said.

"Pathetic? You've insulted me for the last time – ARGH!"

Michiko suddenly lunged forward, and slashed her foe across the chest with her laser sword. She quickly stabbed into her with the laser knife, and added to the pain with a forceful kick. With her penchant for high heels, this was quite a piercing kick.

"I've never seen Suzuki-sensei quite like this before." Shintaro said.

"You should see her when she gets serious." Netuno said, winking.

"Akari! We'll handle this together." Kei said. "C'mon, like you did with Natsumi once. When burning flames meet your mental prowess."

"Oh...I get it! That was pretty fun!" Akari said, with a sneaky smile. "Then let's go, Epona!"

"Morax, come forth!"

Brigid and Morax appeared high in the sky, and the former sent out a massive bombardment of fireballs, radiating fierce heat. The latter goddess, using her power over the mind, guided the balls with telekinesis, charging them with a pink hue. With her manipulation, they rained down one by one on Rinaka, severely scalding her.

**"** **Pyrokinesis** **!"**

"You BASTARDS!" Rinaka screamed, tearfully. "You haven't thwarted me just yet! Breksta!"

Summoning her Persona, she scattered her bullets all over, piercing those who tried to strike with dark bullets. Yet the Persona loaded her own gun, and took aim at Kei – launching a shot described by the Gnosis as the Perfect Murder. The shot was huge, and shrouded in an ominous blue flame. When it hit the Wild Card, there was a huge blast of energy that shattered the reception desk.

"Kei!" Shintaro yelled. "Are you -"

"I'm...fine..." Kei said, yet her voice was fearful. "It's just...I've never really seen Shadows use 'Gun' type attacks before."

"So even you can be taken off guard." Rinaka said, smugly. You'll never make good on your threats if you're  _that_  sluggish!" She taunted, shooting Shintaro right in the chest. He panicked, feeling the area he had been shot. It hurt, but via Ogma's protection, it hadn't quite ended his life.

"Dammit..." Shintaro said. Keeping up with her was hard. Was trying to fight her on a melee level even worthwhile? He wasn't sure, but either way, he had to do what he could. Starting with yet another Jet Flash.

"Gah!" Rinaka was blown into one of the orange chairs, which got heavily scratched from the gusts of wind. Shintaro warped behind, and struck – quickly getting shot in return.

"Ugh!" Shintaro yelled.

"You're pretty fond of that move, aren't you?" The mysterious Tamura said, smugly. "We remember every single trick you and your friends have used against us. I've been prepared for every single one of you."

"So you read up on us. You're a clever woman." Kei said. "And I must admit, you're certainly more experienced than Asami, when it comes to battling. Even so, you haven't quite won the day! Go, Tam Lin!"

The green-armoured knight manifested, and with a steely expression, plunged his spear into the angry Rinaka. This had become a Dream Needle. Yet the dark agent of Bythos clearly was a night owl, as she was very much still awake.

"Damn...!"

"Alright!" Netuno said. Michiko dashed in, trying to hit the agile enemy, but her laser weapons seemed to miss the mark. "...Looks like we need a boost. Tam Kung, give us a Hydro Holler!"

Tam Kung stomped the ground, and became shrouded with what seemed to be jets of blue water. He opened his mouth at the same time, and 'shouted' – generating a giant vibration of blue energy. As it passed through Shintaro, he felt his body get quicker. At the same time, Michiko was finally able to land a hit on Rinaka. In fact, she managed multiple.

"Clever...for a mediocre musician." Rinaka said, bitterly. She quickly threw two more grenades, which exploded much faster. Akari winced, the blast halting her own attack via her tonfas.

"How highly do you rate yourself for attacking children?" Michiko asked. "My own students, no less!"

"Ha! They would be better off dead than having to learn from  _you_!"

Berserk, Michiko kicked and slashed at her opponent wildly, and Nidaba followed suit – with a mighty Psio. Impressed, Shintaro quickly replenished some of his own energy with one of his new lemon flavoured sweets. As quirky as Master Raine was, her inventory was equally as useful.

"That's what you get for insulting my teacher, you nasty bitch!" Akari yelled, clenching her fists. Noticing Kei's pained expression, she quickly used Epona's Diarama to soothe her classmate's wounds.

"I've only just met you and already I  _hate_  you..." Shintaro said, scowling. "Just give up! You're outnumbered!"

Rinaka gasped, but then burst out laughing. The others gasped, and for a moment, the chaos subsided.

"Do you honestly think you're going to win like that?" She asked, aiming her guns at her bookish opponent. "You only got the Cognition Cores out of pure luck! But I'm different from them. Far different. I've had to claw my way out of hell many times. This is no different!"

"You honestly think we were lucky? One of our own died when we got the Tarumi Core!" Kei yelled.

"...Then you should have stayed home after school! That way, you'll survive. Or can you not stand the idea of our reforming the city? Breksta, destroy that girl! Now!"

The Persona chuckled, and aimed her rocket launcher with only one hand. Shintaro gasped – and before anyone could do anything, a Striking Missile flew straight at Kei, exploding with blinding light.

_That damn Persona of hers is getting on my nerves. What can I do to stop her?_

"I know! Sukunda!"

Ogma's ailing spell connected, but Shintaro wasn't so sure it had worked – she was still leaping all over the place, barely giving anyone a chance to hit at her with their weapons. Had they been reliant on melee weaponry for too long?

"Shintaro-kun, what are you doing? Get out of the way!"

He gasped. Rinaka had thrown a dark grenade at his feet. In fact, she had hurled several. They exploded right then and there, and their energies seemed to combine rapidly, creating a fire storm. He barely managed to escape, but the room was filled with the smoke and heat.

"Are you alright?" Akari asked, running to his side.

"I don't know..." Shintaro said.

"Relax. I'm going to get her, and get her good! Soul Blade!"

Epona rode into the still burning room, and crafted a sphere of pure magic, coloured pink and purple. This force transformed into a mighty sword, possibly a zweihander. The blade struck Rinaka, creating a huge supernatural explosion.

"...Tougher than you look." Rinaka said, bitterly. "You're certainly more capable than Kaii, at least."

"Do you have any friends in Bythos? With that attitude, I suppose not..." Akari said, pitifully.

"I'm certainly more valuable as an Aeon Administrator than Murayama. He was such a fool, useless at anything but brute force. But I never questioned Nisa Liat on her decision. After all, it was thanks to her I was able to achieve my power as a Persona user!"

"That's not quite true, is it? Your Persona is from your own heart!" Michiko shouted. Unimpressed, Rinaka fired at her enemy, and Michiko did her best to fend off the bullets sent her way – and slashed her foe twice. With Nidaba, she concluded with a Garula.

"Ugh...must you prattle on so much?" Rinaka yelled. "I've had enough! Breksta -"

"Now, Kei!"

"Yes, sensei!"

Kei, using the power of Ame-No-Uzume, launched a psychic attack of her own, although her Psio didn't seem to quite connect. Swearing under her breath, she quickly tried to block a bullet via her katana. It didn't seem to quite work, however, much to Rinaka's amusement.

"Laugh while you can, you ugly witch! Dynamo Strings!"

Tam Kung played a short melody on its oar-guitar, and yellow guitar strings appeared and surrounded the gunslinger. They then began slowly electrocuting her – but only for a short time. With some fierce movements, she was able to bear the shock and break the chains, firing at her would-be captor in the process.

"Tch! Don't expect compliments to lower my guard. There's no way I'll show you mercy, not even if you were to return the Cores to us! I'll annihilate you, Kakusa! Forbidden Calamity!"

Out of the rocket launcher came a barrage of missiles, each shrouded in a blue energy. These missiles spun around in a cycle, then quickly struck the ground, creating a terrific explosion. Despite the intense pain and sound of the blast, Shintaro could still hear their new opponent laugh coldly.

"Argh..." Akari cried.

"Dammit...how in the hell did you pull that off!?" Netuno bemoaned.

"In this world, I have no constraints. Nisa Liat grants me the freedom to pursue justice! Unlike the wretched Japanese police. They got away with murder...bastards!" Rinaka shouted.

_All of Bythos are so bitter against the world. I feel sorry for them, a little. But it's quite possible Rinaka is the one who gave Teruko the infected Gnosis. Even if she isn't, we must halt her!_

"Suzuki-sensei!" Shintaro bellowed. "Please, lend me your strength. Your Nidaba and my Ogma. Together, our power can put an end to this despicable battle!"

"You know I'll always aid my students, Shintaro. Tamura-san, this is the choice we make. Your rhetoric will never make us side with you. Nor will your bullets. That's the only lesson I'll give you!"

Immediately, two giant cyclones appeared, one green, and one pale blue. They span around Rinaka in perfect sync, until they finally formed one huge cyclone of both colours.

"Dammit! What the hell is this?" Rinaka yelled. Angry, she tried to peer through the wall of air to target her enemies, but couldn't quite pinpoint either of them. "Breksta, hurry and break though -"

" **Gemini Gale!"**

The turbulent wind closed in on Rinaka, blasting her with the full force of the skies – sending her back and forth between the walls, and generating chaos all over the room. The others watched in awe, hesitant to move, lest they be sucked into this vortex of vindication.

The front doors had shattered, and millions of shards of glass were left. The alarms were ringing right there, deafening everyone present. A battered and beaten Rinaka slowly got to her feet, incensed.

"How?!" Rinaka yelled. "How did you pull that off?!"

"You got cheese in your ears?" Shintaro said. "It's the Wild Card's power! As long as we have that, we're unbeatable."

"Is that so...?" The sinister woman grumbled. "Then when Nisa Liat and your beloved Wild Card clash, what will happen?"

"Never mind that! What the hell are you doing working for Bythos? All you do is end people's happiness, not deliver it to them! You cold-hearted bitch!" Netuno bellowed.

"We didn't seek the Pleroma Princess out ourselves, you vulgar fool" Rinaka said, still scowling with pure hatred. "She chose us...how she came to know of our hardships, I still don't know. But she showed us the way we could right the wrongs of this city."

"What hardships have you had to endure?" Kei asked, gently. "The other allies of yours we've met have been quite unfortunate. You must have suffered too..."

"I don't intend to compete with my allies for the most tragic past..." Rinaka said. "After you saved my life, Kita-san...I joined the Japanese Police. It took a lot of work for them to take me seriously, but I had more strength than all the women at the academy! I made it...but those in charge were responsible for depravity. One of them got away with murder...and I couldn't do anything about it."

The remainder of the group ran in, and Rinaka swore under her breath. She caught eyes with Hiroyuki, and gasped.

"You! Trust you to show up when I've been had." Rinaka said, eyeing her wounded leg.

"Tamura!" He shouted. "I should have known. What the hell are you doing -"

"Obviously, I've been forced to retreat. Yet it won't be long before you suffer even worse. Farewell, Kita."

She pulled out what looked like a smoke bomb, and threw it on the ground. She had vanished by the time the smoke had cleared, and the lobby had begun to return itself to normal.

"You okay, Shintaro-kun?" Masato asked. "That lady looked dangerous. Sexy, but dangerous."

"Let's get out of here." Natsumi said, rolling her eyes. "We've gotten some valuable information, and we ought to get it researched properly. Right, Reia?"

"Right. Michiko, how'd you handle that? First time you've been up against a human in this world, right?" Reia asked.

"Nothing to it." Michiko said, proudly. "In fact, Nidaba was better than ever."

The team ended back in the Gold Laguna, with the data they had stolen in tow.

**|Golden Laguna|19:00 pm|**

"...So she almost died that night?" Novalie asked, shocked. Hiroyuki, after some pressure from Michiko, had begun to tell the tale of how he knew their deadly adversary, the gun-wielding Rinaka.

"That's right. It was an attack by a crazy cult – the Burning Sun. Playing with fire was their speciality. With fire, there's no telling what it could do in the wrong hands. That just made them more curious to find out." Hiroyuki said. "The cult themselves set fire to almost every house in the area, and burned themselves in the process. Up till then, they'd just been a minor nuisance, but this was huge – the worst incident we had before Shinshuto became a proper city."

_I think I remember those people. They were probably even crazier than Bythos, with all their strange spiels about their 'greatest god' and the 'immolation regeneration' papers they posted everywhere._

"So Rinaka survived, then she joined the police. And recently, she left to start her own security firm. Around the same time, she also joined Bythos. This is horrible..." Akari said. "Is it because of what happened to her family that she joined Bythos?"

"I'm sure she holds a grudge against many people." Kei said. "She seems to be...a bitter woman, I can say that much. One bad experience after the other has no doubt hardened her, even more than Asami."

"And she knows who killed Leonora's fiance..." Kohaku said, turning to Netuno. "We have to find out who did that, as well. And put a stop to him."

"Yeah! I'll bash his face in for you!" Masato said, cheerfully. "As long as I can crush Keiya into dust as well, of course."

"Solberg-san is such an idiot." Shintaro said. "If he knew exactly what sort of people he was associating himself with..."

"He thinks he knows what they're really like. But he's never been to the Theio Kosmos, or seen a Shadow. He's completely oblivious. Going after him is a waste of time." Hiroyuki said. "Although it does mean he'll be at risk if something should go awry. He might feel safe with Bythos, yet the way I see it, he's put himself and his entire family in great danger."

"Evelina-senpai..." Natsumi said, looking out the window. "I wonder if she has any idea what her father is up to. Their family business is funding such an evil group, and she's caught in the middle."

"If only I could have done more for her..." Hiroyuki said, regretfully. "I might have saved her from dying that night, but her life since then clearly hasn't been a happy one. The fact is, if we continue to fight her, I might have to put a bullet in her head. Unless she puts two in mine."

"Does it have to be that way?" Michiko asked, melancholic.

"It's too late to stop her from being her enemy. Her mind is made up, and so is mine." He said, standing up. "It's time for me to get home. You all should head back yourselves. Especially you kids."

Shintaro wished he could say something that would cheer him up. Yet even with his favourite teacher fighting alongside him, anxiety still seemed to block any encouraging words.

Just what more horrors could be lurking behind the doors of Bythos?

**|Mayor Ashikaga's Home|22:00 pm|**

It had been a long evening of work at home, and Yoko Ashikaga was finally about to go to sleep. With no one living here but herself, she had least could expect a quiet night. Yet to go back to the days of a warm, noisy, family home would be heaven for her.

As she entered her bedroom, she saw something beneath the crest of drawers. A sheet of white paper, with elaborate handwriting on it. Confused, she picked it up, and read it carefully. It didn't seem like anything had been taken, nor were there any other signs of forced entry.

**If you can read this, then please do _n_ 't cry.**

**_I_  know all too well how you've  _s_ uffered these lonely ye _a_ rs.**

**And I'm sure you know a _l_ ready, but  _i_ t is  _a_  sad reali _t_ y.**

**The city of Shinshuto that you seek to build cannot be attained in this world.**

**Do not despair. The world I can survive in will be more than enough for all our dreams to come true, and none can stop me.**

**I will soon be able to invite you there.**

**I will just need to test that you are truly mine.**

**Someday soon, we will be together.**

**I will be able to cut through the despair of your heart,**

**And all will prosper under our rule.**

"What is this?!" Yoko asked. "Who's there!?"

There was total silence. For a second, it felt like she was being watched, but the bedroom was empty except for her. She looked out the window, but all she could see was the surroundings of her home.

Someone had carefully prepared this message for her, and she had a feeling there would be more messages to come. Was this person serious with their offer of ruling Shinshuto together? And the other world they mentioned. Was this connected to the talk of 'Cosmos' she had heard from Shigeru?

"...Perhaps, Shigeru, we need to make use of the Theio Kosmos. If it can lead Noriko-chan back to me...we  _must_."


	28. Knowledge of Mysteries

**|Pleroma|**

Shintaro's vision was initially hazy, but then he could see his surroundings quite carefully. He was in the Gold Laguna Hotel, all alone. It was strange to see the place look so empty, with none of the usual chatter. It hadn't been long since Teruko demonstrated her power here. Yet that power had quickly revealed itself to be the EX-NIHILO playing a game of cruel deception, one with fatal results.

"Where is everyone?" He asked. "Hello? Anyone? Please, if you're here -"

"Calm down, Shintaro-kun. It's just you and me for now."

There was a flash, and none other than Nisa Liat appeared. Yet she was in a different outfit than he had seen her in before. This was a short purple dress with matching boots, complete with silver bracelets.

"Nice outfit." Shintaro said. The minute he said it, he felt odd. This was the mastermind behind Bythos, right? Why was he compelled to compliment her? This feeling towards her didn't feel like hatred at all.

"...Thank you." Nisa Liat said, happily. "I wish I could tell you more about our situation, but right now, there's still a chance you might not be able to handle it. Then we'd be back to square one."

He raised his eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean? Who  _are_  you? Are you really the Nisa Liat we met at that space museum?"

"You ask too many questions. Unfortunately, ones that if I answer, it might destroy your state of mind." She said. "One moment. I want to try a change of scene."

She smiled, and walked closer to the window. Pressing her hand against it, the environment suddenly shattered like glass, and the two of them were floating aimlessly through the strange space of the previous dream.

"This place again? What is this?" He demanded, clenching his fists.

"You don't know?" Nisa Liat asked, titling her head. "I suppose you wouldn't. It's called  **Pleroma**. How can I describe it? It's a place beyond material matter. It's where human thoughts from countless people float, in a sense, aimlessly. It's almost like the barrier between the two Kosmos. While we're in this world, I can recreate almost any memory you've ever had, as well as mine. Both Kosmos are connected to Pleroma. Think of this world as the barrier between them, and the Gnosis as the means to cross that barrier."

The 'world' changed yet again, and she and Shintaro were now on top of a giant white stone tower, below a turquoise sky that almost resembled water. He looked, but couldn't see anything else for miles, except for what seemed to be another tower of the exact same style. Nisa Liat smiled again, and moved closer to her guest. He couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried to force himself.

"Where are we now?" Shintaro asked. This 'Pleroma' unsettled him more than anything he had ever seen in the Theio Kosmos. And Nisa Liat seemed to be quite friendly with him, he noticed. Just what did she know that he did not? Being in this world was making him shake with fear. "I...I want to go home. I hate it here..."

"I know. But have a little more faith in me and the others. You'll be truly home soon. Things are finally going the way I desire." Nisa Liat said. "And that wretched girl will forever be denied her victory."

"What girl? Are you talking about Kei?" Shintaro asked, defensively.

"What? No, I mean that damned – Hold on. Kei?" Nisa Liat asked disturbed. "Kei who? Answer me!"

"Kei Kakusa! You've already met her, haven't you?!" Shintaro asked. "At the Museum! Remember, your Persona Rosmerta looks almost exactly the same as her Ostara!"

The mysterious leader of Bythos froze on the spot, staring into space, horrified. How could she not know who Kei was? They had met face to face very recently. Was this Nisa Liat even the same one? Shintaro couldn't make sense of any of this at all. But he desperately wished he was anywhere else but this place, where no organic matter seemed to exist.

"Something clearly has gone wrong. But you won't have to suffer for much logner. I'll make sure your memories are corrected soon enough. Before long, it will be as if this Kei Kakusa never existed. Or anyone else but you, me, and the others. Return to your slumber, Shintaro-kun. I'll do everything I can to erase the past."

With that, Shintaro vanished, leaving the dark haired girl alone in the city.

"Interesting. I wonder who exactly  _is_  this Kei Kakusa? I'll need to get Shinju and Akemi to take care of it at some point. For now, I'll wait and see what happens..."

**|May 13th|Chieki Academy|13:36 pm|**

The school week was finally over at Chieki Academy, and the twins were leaving the class with Eiji, who was still a little annoyed with Masato. However, they were unified in their hatred of Mr. Koyanagi, who had spent most of the lecture condemning the world, particularly their generation.

"You children don't understand just how vital mathematics is, do you? Without it, society would never have progressed so far. Technology never would have advanced to the state you get to enjoy today. Yet no one has the drive to study anymore, not nearly as much when I was young. I dread to think what will become of Japan."

_Can't he just stick to teaching maths? Who cares what he thinks? He's never treated us as worthy the minute we walked into his classroom. Complete loser!_

Masato and Natsumi were about to leave the school, but they heard familiar voices talking by the entrance to the Practice Building. They decided to sneak closer, after quickly saying their farewells to a bemused Eiji.

"...you sure it's all that bad?" Toshiaki asked, still dressed in his full uniform. "I mean, is it that big of a deal that Artemis hired more security people?"

"Well, it makes me wonder just what's going on over there." Evelina said, anxious. "I've heard rumours that Artemis are allied with Bythos. If that was the case, then what is my father thinking? Is he using Bythos to take down corporate rivals? Or even worse?"

"Oh come on, you really believe that? They're just a stupid cult. Your father's a smart man, he wouldn't side with them." Toshiaki said. The twins, trying to remain inconspicuous, looked at each other with unease. Evelina was Svante's only child. Was it fair to hide what they knew from her? Yet, involving others could lead to more tragedies like Teruko. Masato understood that. He would hold his peace.

"I hope you're right, Toshi. Otherwise, I might have to do some digging myself..."

As Evelina said this, Natsumi saw someone else taking a close interest in this conversation. Asami, with a solemn look on her face, having just left the Practice Room. She very quickly moved away, her bag briefly brushing against Evelina's.

"Oh, I'm sorry, senpai..." Asami said. She then left the school grounds, leaving the others confused.

"Huh, she was in a hurry. What's up with her?" Toshiaki asked.

"Beats me! Probably needs to upload another hundred thousand videos about makeup or something." Natsumi said, shrugging. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're alright. Just talking about some family stuff." Evelina said. "Speaking of which, isn't your brother getting married? The one who teaches at Kansei?"

"Yeah, that's right. Although it's become more of a gruelling battle for control over the wedding plans." Masato said, shuddering. "Our mother is quite forceful when she wants to be. Which is nearly always."

"I know what you mean. My dad can be the same way with me and my little brother." Toshiaki said, chuckling. "We used to misbehave all the time. And we'd get in trouble, start crying, he'd say sorry for shouting, and then it'd start all over again."

_Wait, just the three of them? Did something happen to Toshi's mother? Or should I not ask?_

"Hey, want to see what we've been working on?" Evelina asked. "You'll love it. It's all set up in the electronics room! It still needs some fine tuning, but I think it's good for a quick demonstration."

The twins considered this briefly, and nodded. Enthusiastically, the four of them continued into the building. However, Masato couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched by someone. And that someone might not be as friendly as their guests.

**|Hiyashi – Midori Hall|14:02 pm|**

The Midori Hall was a moderately sized building, that certainly did not rival the likes of Aramis' HQ. However, today it was the first day of the weekend's Book Festival, and now the hall was filled with some of the most talented local authors, and Shintaro was amazed at some of the faces here. He had a backpack ready, one compartment filled with old books he wanted signed, and another empty – in case he needed to pick up more.

_That bizarre dream about the 'Pleroma'. Was that a real dimension, outside of the Akartharto and Theio Kosmos? I hate all this not knowing. If only I could talk to Nisa Liat outside of those dreams._

Right now, Celestine was on the stage, discussing her life and her series of novels. Just hearing her speak was so captivating. Even though she was from France, she had no trouble conveying her words in Japanese at all.

_I'm so jealous. I wish I could be that fluent in other languages. Perhaps I should ask dad about a summer vacation somewhere, so I can practice speaking in English. Or French, even._

"It was a major struggle for me to get published. I know that's nothing new, especially in today's writing world, but when you go without sleep over the manuscript you've worked on for possibly years, it's heartbreaking when you're inundated with rejection letters. Especially ones where they were too lazy to put your name in the blank spaces – yes, that actually happened." Celestine said, with one of her sly smiles.

_It's just like what she was telling me when we were at the Golden Dragon. That story about the man who made those false reviews. Sleaze, she called him. I wonder, if I end up publishing anything, how many times I'll end up rejected before my book gets put on the shelves of Book Wyrm? Or will I ever get that far?_

"I never expected my novels to become so famous in Japan. It's been wonderful living here, and experiencing a foreign land. Exciting, as well. It's given me limitless inspiration for the next Leanne Rouge already. I've only lived her a short time, and already I've met special people. The kind of people that I couldn't imagine not having in my life."

_Huh? I wonder who she's talking about. The girls at the Golden Dragon? Her publishing company? Or me? We have been spending a lot of time talking, I suppose._

During the question and answer session, Shintaro stared at her in admiration. She was so refined, so elegant, so composed. Perhaps she was the most beautiful he had ever met. He didn't understand why she was so captivating. Was it her words, both from her mouth and pen? Or those eyes that twinkled whenever they met his? Either way, he felt as if his spirits had truly been lifted. Teruko's demise would always stay with him as one of the worst experiences of his life. Yet that didn't mean everything else afterwards had to be awful.

"In your books, Leanne has a really bad relationship with her estranged sister. Is any of that from your own experiences?" A young lady in the front row asked.

"Well, I do have a sister. We don't see eye to eye that much, but it's far less dysfunctional than Leanne's family issues. She lives in Austria with her husband and daughter. It's been quite a while since we last spoke..." Celestine said, somewhat longingly. It was the first time he had heard about her own family, Shintaro realised.

Finally, Celestine was done, and the guests were free to explore the festival. As Shintaro got up, he saw her gesture to follow. So he did, making his way past the throngs of book lovers and novelists. Eventually, they were outdoors, in the garden area – all alone.

"It's been a great festival already." Shintaro said, happily. "I always love it when this time of year comes around."

Before he could continue, however, she placed her arms around him, and stared deeply into his eyes. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on. Their feelings had finally burst out, unable to be restrained any longer. She and him moved closer, and their lips finally met. With both eyes closed, all they could sense was each other.

_This is...my first kiss. I can't believe it. With Celestine. I..._

She finally let go, and they stood in front of each other, somewhat awkwardly.

"When you were staring at me the whole time in that room, I...I finally realised." Celestine said. "How completely special you are. I've met so many intellectual men, but none of them hold a candle to you."

"I...I've never done anything like before." Shintaro said, shaking. "...But that was incredible."

"You knew who I was talking about during that speech, didn't you?" Celestine said, smirking at him coyly. "Don't worry. This will just be between the two of us. A secret – but it doesn't have to be eternal. One day, there will be a perfect moment to tell everyone."

"My parents would freak if they knew what just happened." Shintaro said. "So it's a good thing I'm not going to tell them."

Celestine held his hand, and they walked closer to the bed of flowers by the wall surrounding the building. His heart was pounding. To think that, despite his denials, he and his favourite author had finally become as one.

"I heard some company in Japan say 'two in harmony surpasses one in perfection' once." Shintaro said, suddenly. "I forget which one it was, but...it's sweet, isn't it"?

"It's certainly poetic. Would they sue if I put it in my book?" Celestine said, and the two of them laughed. "Relax. I've got plenty of places to get inspiration from. And people, too. We're going to have many bright and honest years together."

"Years?" Shintaro said, almost giddy. "...That would be perfect. After what we just did, I know I don't want this to end too soon. No. I don't want it to end at all. I don't care what anyone else thinks."

"Wonderful...that's the kind of attitude I love about you." Celestine said. "I was starting to feel lost in this city before I met you. But now I have new hope."

Hope. Shintaro felt the same way. A light had finally shone on his heart's darkness. The Shadows that infested the Theio Kosmos would be powerless to stop him now, he finally felt. And if EX-NIHILO dared to revive itself, then the avid reader would send it straight back to hell.

_As many times as it takes. You monster and all of Bythos will never prevail! I have someone waiting for me in this world now...someone so special._

"Are you alright, Shintaro?"

He looked at her, and nodded, blushing. "Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said. Were things really so bad before you met me?"

"Bad? I can't say that. Empty would be better a word. I thought I was living to write more and more novels. But that's not enough. When it comes to you, words aren't enough. That's why I..."

"You've been searching for someone a long time, haven't you?" Shintaro asked. "For someone...like me?"

"...Yes. It truly is unfortunate that..." Celestine hesitated, not quite able to finish. He stood there, wondering just what about this could be of misfortune. "...We're so far apart in age. But time will change that."

"Each second brings joy and pain to the world. It's up to those looking at the clock to choose what each moment means to them." Shintaro said. "...The last line of Silver Pain."

Celestine nodded. The two of them went back inside to the hall, and while on the surface, they were talking about literature, far more was on Shintaro's mind now.

_I hope the others understand. Even if they don't like it, I have to follow my feelings. That's what having a Persona means, right?_

**|Practice Building – Room 1-A|14:24 pm|**

"Wow!" Masato said. Sitting on the work bench was a meticulously crafted robotic car, with multiple lights attached to it. Evelina took out her smartphone, and with the app she had designed, began putting it through their 'assault course', full of ramps and other obstacles.

"All made in-house!" Toshiaki said. "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get hold of some of these components. But when there's a will, there's a way. Man, if only I had the spare cash, then I could get something even more fancy going."

"At least you don't need to pay me for my software skills. For now, anyway." Evelina said. While Toshiaki adjusted some of the obstacles for the car's route, Evelina went to look in one of the boxes full of spare parts. "...Huh?"

"What is it, Evelina-senpai?" Natsumi asked.

"These phones. They weren't there when we were in this room earlier today."

Masato, alarmed, looked over. He gasped at the sight – two Gnosis devices were indeed left inside the box. Evelina took one of them in her hand, and she looked at it carefully.

"How bizarre. I wonder what brand it is? It looks rather sleek. Toshi, you should have a look too!"

"Alrighty..." Toshiaki said. He wandered over, whistling to himself. The twins remained frozen with fear. Just what was this? Had Asami left these here for someone to find? The male senior took the other phone, and tried his best to turn it on.

"Huh. What a weird looking operating system." Evelina said, glancing at it carefully. "Some of the screen looks glitchy, too."

Indeed, one of the apps was labelled as 'SIOBHAN-M', and another was 'LUTHER-H'. These were foreign names, obviously, but ones that didn't seem familiar to anyone around. Natsumi wondered if perhaps they were Bythos members, but as far as she knew, all of them were Japanese. Perhaps if they could speak to Kaii or Toki, they could look into this deeper.

"Huh, this looks weird as hell. Most of these icons are greyed out and keep pulling up weird error messages when I try to tap them." Toshiaki said. "What the heck is going on with these phones? They suck..."

"Well, I wouldn't say that just yet. They require some digging." Evelina began connecting the phone to her laptop, much to Natsumi's fright.

"Should we really just let her do that?" Masato whispered, frantic, into her ear.

"What else should we do?!" She replied, as quietly as she could.

"...Weird. It won't recognise the phone when I plug it in." Evelina said. "Not even that noise you get when you put something in the USB port. And these are 3.0 ports."

"Uh...must be broken!" Natsumi said, pretending to be amused.

"I guess, but there's something weird about it. It doesn't feel like it's made out of plastic or metal. You know what? I'm gonna hang onto it. Maybe do some research." Evelina said.

"Yeah, me too. My old phone is pretty slow now anyway." Toshiaki said, nonchalant as always. "Anyway, we're going to head home now. See you two later, okay?"

"Um, yeah, sure!" Masato said. The two older students left, leaving the other two petrified.

"Oh no...we shouldn't have let them just keep those things!" Natsumi said. "Dammit, I should have seen this coming! Asami acting all weird earlier, when she was leaving this building. What the hell else is she trying to do?"

"There's no telling what will happen with those two if they take those Gnosis home! We've got to think of something!" Masato said, frantic. "If one of them has EX-NIHILO – oh god, no, I don't even want to imagine that."

The two quickly left the Practice Building. As they did, they noticed Mr. Koyanagi giving them harsh looks, while he talked to another teacher. Eager to avoid his attention, they left the school grounds, and hurriedly made it back home. With any luck, as long as their two senpai didn't scan any of the 'Aeon Pathways', they would be safe from the Theio Kosmos.

Yet in these times, safety was far from easy to guarantee. They needed to keep an eye on their two favourite senpai. Perhaps even steal those errant Gnosis, if that was the only way to protect them.

**|Ginumi Promenade|15:00 pm|**

While Shintaro was spending the day with Celestine, Akari and Kohaku had decided to go to Ginumi alone, and enjoy the pleasant Spring weather. Kei had politely declined, having already made plans to hang out with Haia Oshiro and Minae Saito.

"Kei's certainly become popular, hasn't she?" Akari said. "I wonder how she does it..."

"I wish I knew." Kohaku said. "I was never good at making friends until I started at Kansei. It was just me and Shintaro. That mess in junior high probably had something to do with it..."

"Is it hard being with the twins?" Akari asked. "Relax. I can keep a secret, even if Suzu says I'm a blabbermouth. But if I was, then everyone would know that she likes kissing her band posters every night."

"...Yes, I imagine they would." Kohaku said, raising an eyebrow in derision. "I'll be honest, it kind of does now and again. She acts so bubbly, like I remember her being, but then I picture her with that horrid gang of girls, and joining in with their abuse."

"Some things just don't go away." Akari said. "People just can't get away from their past. Noburo might never be able to move on from Teruko. And then there's all the stuff Toki did."

"Yeah. Toki might honestly be trying to be a better person, but he did put Shintaro through hell. Not to mention his ex-wife. I don't know if I'd be able to work with him, if he does quit Bythos." Kohaku said. "Noburo...he doesn't deserve all of this. I wish I could help him."

Akari, surprised, looked closely at her friend. "Oh? You look pretty upset over this. Don't tell me, you...like Noburo?"

"Ah! No, not like that!" Kohaku said, almost desperate. "We're similar. His love of theatre, my love of music. Our goals for the future. I might not have known him for that long, but the moment I meant him, I felt like we understood each other."

Akari smiled. "It might be weird to say this, but Noburo's luckier than he thinks. After all, he has friends like you worrying about him."

_Friends like me. No doubt everyone else feels the same way. We want to help Noburo. But we just don't know. What can we do? Do we just leave him alone, and wait for him to resolve his feelings? Or do we run to his side, and save him?_

"Perhaps..." Kohaku said. "Kaii has you falling for him too. And all the young nurses, too. He must be enjoying the attention, right?"

"Me? Falling for Kaii? He's 20, I'm only 16!" Akari said, shaking her head, flustered. "That's not fair, Kohaku-chan!"

Kohaku laughed, as they continued to walk along the promenade. "Sorry. But you put me on the spot about Noburo. If anyone's bad at hiding crushes, it's Shintaro."

Akari joined in the laughter, grinning. "I'll say. He denies it so much, but you can see it in his eyes. Celestine means so much to him. But Kei doesn't seem so fond of her. Why is that?"

"Why? With Kei, I never know." Kohaku said, frowning. "She's one of us, I know that. But her heart is so closed off. Any time we ask her about her past, she gives vague answers and clams up."

"If only Epona could analyse human minds." Akari said. "Maybe that's what I have to work on! Get her to read minds! Then all of Kei's secrets will be ours! But I'll keep them, just like the one about Suzu and the time she tripped and fell in the mud. At her cousin's wedding."

"You, a mind reader?" Kohaku said. "If you ever do that, make me a promise. Don't read mine."

"Oh? Sure, I guess. Should I get that in writing?" Akari asked, jokingly. "...You're looking serious again, Kohaku-chan."

As they were turning right towards the main thoroughfare, Kohaku gasped at the sight of a familiar young woman, walking out of an apartment building. It was Aika, the singer she had seen in concert not too long ago, wearing one stunning bright pink designer dress, with sparkling sleeves.

_Wow, it's really her again!_

"...Hmm?" Aika said, as she saw the two girls. "Oh, didn't we meet several weeks ago?"

"Yes! And I was at the concert too!" Kohaku said, happily. "This is my friend from school, Akari Ito."

"Charmed to meet you," Aika said, as she shook friends with her new acquaintance. "Unfortunately, I'm in somewhat of a rush. I'm attending a formal dinner in Tarumi, hosted by my record company."

"Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you. Have a good night!"

"...Oh, is that a flute?" Aika asked, seeing the silver instrument poking out of Kohaku's orange school bag. "I'm impressed. Mastering the flute is quite an achievement."

"Mastering?" Kohaku asked, somewhat embarrassed. "I can't say that. I've never even performed as a professional."

"I see. Regardless, I'd like to hear it sometime." Aika said. "Why don't we exchange contact information? I like getting to know my fans. And you seem quite the devout fan of my music."

_Oh my goodness! I...I'm going to be friends with Aika Makino! This is so cool!_

The two of them swapped contact details, and soon after, Aika ran towards the taxi she had called, and was whisked away to her social event. As Kohaku waved, Akari stood there, bemused.

"Huh. You and Shintaro get to meet your heroes. How the hell do you do it?" Akari asked.

"Aren't you happy for us?" Kohaku asked. "I know they say you should never meet your heroes, but...look how happy he's been after meeting his. And now that I've met mine, I feel great!"

Akari didn't seem so sure, however, but shrugged it off, and two of them continued towards a cafe they had been interested in trying.

_Does she think it's too good to be true? No, that's not it at all. Aika Makino and Celestine Courtois aren't just good at their craft. They're good people, deep down. That's what makes them so special. I won't let anyone spoil that._

**|Mizuho – Solberg Estate|16:01 pm|**

The Solberg house was quite the impressive architectural feat, with gleaming white walls and immaculate Grecian style pillars. There was a grey-haired gardener tending to the many flowers surrounding the home, and plenty of birds fluttering around the fountain. It very much was European in style, as intended by Svante, so that his family could ease into moving to a new country more easily.

"Ah, welcome home, Evelina! Is Toshiaki not coming today?" A middle aged woman, Marta Solberg, said. Her hair was quite dark and short, compared to her daughter's, but she had the same fair features in her face. She was somewhat plainly dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, but had a fetching blue diamond necklace. Her husband was fond of giving her gifts, and this had been his first present when the family moved to Japan.

"Hi mother! He's gone home for today. He's helping his father with dinner." Evelina said. The two of them went inside the home, and saw an elderly lady in the kitchen, with a kindly smile.

"Welcome back, darling. I'm cooking tonight." Esther Solberg said. Svante's mother, she had come to Japan with him to experience a new country, and had become quite popular with the older citizens of Shinshuto. While she certainly did like to portray herself as a kindly grandmother, she was still very fierce as a mother, as Svante had found out on several nights working late.

"It smells terrific, grandmother!" Evelina said, smiling. "Is father not coming home for dinner?"

Marta shook her head, sighing. "He said he had a lot to deal with today. Something to do with security concerns at Aramis. It's one thing after one these days. If only he didn't end up sleeping in his office, too. It's so annoying having to take him clean clothes. Perhaps he should have a whole wardrobe there too, then he'd never have to come home!"

"Don't trouble yourself so much, dear. But you're right - that son of mine works too hard. He's forgotten how to take care of his household. Thank the heavens he begged me to join you all here, otherwise things would fall apart completely." Esther said. "Now, I might have a bad hip, and all the hairs on this eighty year old head are grey, but I'm still sharper than any of those Japanese swords you see lying around."

"Uh...yes, absolutely! We'd be lost without you! Um, Mother, I'm going to do some homework before dinner. There's a lot of material to cover this year already." Evelina said, taking her bag upstairs. Once in her room, a rather ornate one filled with plush green furniture and many computer parts and textbooks, she decided to look at the Gnosis one more time.

_Masato and Natsumi seemed pretty scared of these things. I wonder why? Wait a minute. Didn't that Tamura person have one when she came here one night? Rinaka Tamura, that private security woman? I did like talking to her, but she was so shifty. Maybe I should ask her about it next time I see her._

The Gnosis didn't seem to be powered on. Odd, Evelina thought. The battery was more than halfway charged when she looked at it last. She wasn't sure how to open it up and take a further look, so she decided to begin charging it with a spare cable from her drawer, combined with a high-speed portable battery.

"Just what are you, 'Gnosis'?" Evelina asked, holding down the power button. "Never heard of you before. Wonder if you've got other friends out there? Or are Toshiaki and I the only owners of you guys? I guess I'll find out easily enough."

She very quickly googled 'Gnosis', but only found details on how it was a Greek word meaning 'knowledge', and it's connection to Gnosticism. There were other services out there called Gnosis, but neither of them seemed to be connected to cellphones or any other kind of technology. While she had come across obscure brands of electronics in the past, she had never had one that didn't seem to exist.

_This is weird. My computer is charging it, but it doesn't seem to be listing it anywhere in the list of connected devices. How exactly do I go forward in studying this thing?_

Suddenly, there was a text message on the Gnosis. Evelina hadn't been able to check if the phone had a SIM Card inserted yet, or if the phone was connected to any wireless networks, but she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw it. Warily, she tapped the screen to read it.

**From: RITA**

**You've worked out that this is no ordinary phone, haven't you? You won't be able to examine it properly before your awakening. Look carefully for special things this Gnosis reacts to when you're outdoors. I'll be in touch later on.**

"Huh? Rita? Who the hell is that?" Evelina asked. The name was written in English capital letters, yet the rest of the message was in Japanese text. Confused, she typed out a simple reply, asking this Rita who she – or he, possibly – was. However, no reply seemed forthcoming.

_Fine, 'Rita'. I'll wait. Right now, I've got studying to do. But I'll find out just what sort of device this Gnosis is, and why it was left in our school. If there are others with them, I want to talk to them too..._

**|Mizuho – Yukimora Home|17:00 pm|**

"Anyone home?" Toshiaki asked, as he opened the front door. He was a bit late getting back, having looked in a few sporting good shops. Far less grand than his friend's home, but this was a home nevertheless. Yet the place was looking quite messy, and no doubt it was up to the elder son to clean up once again.

"That you, Toshi?" A tired sounding man said, walking into the living room. He was in his white shirt, black trousers, and favourite red tie. He looked quite like his son, except with darker hair, and a small beard and glasses. Tetsuo Yukimora, an office manager known for being very strict with his employees. Yet his efforts had paid off well for the company, and thus he had been able to provide for his two sons alone, and fairly comfortably too.

"Hey dad," Toshiaki said. "You look beat."

"Tough day at the office. Our new hires don't know what they're doing..." Tetsuo said, grimacing. "I ordered Chinese food, and it's all ready. Sorry, kid, I was too tired to cook tonight."

"Don't sweat it. I'll always eat food from the Lucky Genbu." Toshiaki said, laughing. "So, where's the little guy? He playing hide and seek by himself again?"

"Oh, come on! That was  _one_  time!"

Barging out of the kitchen was an annoyed young boy, not quite in junior high yet. His hair was more auburn, closer to his late mother Kazue, and his face had more of her features than his father. He was wearing a green shirt, bearing characters from an older series of Featherman, and black shorts.

"Sorry, Yuudai," Toshiaki said, chuckling. The three of them went into the kitchen, where the various dishes were ready to eat, and some exotic flavours of juice were poured out already. "So c'mon, baby brother, tell me all about school."

"Baby? I'm eleven! But...it was great! Sahashi-sensei said I was doing really well, and our soccer team won!" The younger brother said, excitedly. "Oh, and Nami-chan is going to Beppu in the summer!"

"Ah, is she? Wish you were going?" Toshiaki said, amused. "Wish it was a romantic getaway!"

"Uh...no!" Yuudai said, shaking his head furiously. "Beppu just has a lot of hot springs, that's all!"

"If you say so...that's one thing this city doesn't have." Toshiaki said. "Evelina was asking after you, y'know."

The young boy's face lit up. "Really? Evelina's so cool! She's even taller than you!"

"I know. Crazy, huh?" Toshiaki said, smirking. "Better drink your milk if you want to be our height some day."

As they talked, however, Tetsuo sat at the table in silence, as he was prone to do. He did look back and forth at each of his sons, but barely responded to anything they said.

_Quiet as always. He never used to be this way. But then again, it's been just the three of us for a long time. Maybe if our mom was still here, he'd be more talkative. All I can do is help him around the house, and be the best brother I can be._

Finally, dinner was over, and the three boys went to do their own things. While his father was downstairs watching a show about carved candles from Germany, and his brother was playing various video games, Toshiaki went into his perpetually untidy room, and prepared to example the Gnosis device in more detail.

"Alright, you weird cellular phone, show me what you got." He said, hooking it up to his own computer. It had various programs that Evelina had designed for him to experiment with, and various circuit boards he had used with them. However, the only thing that happened when he attached his Gnosis was the charging symbol appearing on the screen. It seemed to have turned off already. Irritated, he turned it back on, and while he waited for it to fully boot up, he began doing internet searches.

_Evelina's probably doing the same thing. Wonder if she's struck gold? If she did, she'd be all over it. Maybe for once, I'll beat her to it. So, who manufacture this thing? Can I jailbreak it?_

His eagerness turned to irritation quite quickly, however, as nothing but apparently irrelevant searches appeared. It mostly seemed to be about vaguely religious or philosophical topics, things completely uninteresting to him. It was beginning to creep him out, now that he thought about it. Who put the phone in Chieki Academy, and who had created it in the first place?

Even taking pictures of it and trying to run an image search provided fruitless. The only matches were with vaguely similar, but completely normal phones. Sighing, he decided to leave it for tonight, and head out for an evening run. Before he was finished putting on his new black and gold sneakers, however, the Gnosis vibrated. Curious, he picked it up, and saw a new text message.

"The hell? But I didn't see anything in the list of contacts..."

**From: SHIKO**

**Even someone as dim as you should be able to tell this isn't your typical smartphone. You can search all day for it online, but you won't be able to unlock its secrets. Wait until the right moment, boy. Once that time comes, I'll speak to you in person.**

"The hell? Shiko? That a girl's name? And who's she calling dim?" Toshiaki asked. He didn't know anyone at school called Shiko. And whoever wrote this text seemed to have a bit of an attitude. It seemed familiar, somehow.

_So did this person leave these phones on purpose for us to find? If so, why? I did want a new phone, but one less creepy than this. And with less rude texts, too. Shiko, don't start off by making fun of my intelligence. I'll find out what this Gnosis is my way, and if you're up to no good, then I'll put a stop to that myself._

He left the phone on his bedside table, and decided to get changed for an evening run. Before long, he was jogging at a steady pace, waving to his neighbours. The younger children cheered as they saw him, and he waved back, smiling.

Yet as he ran, he began wondering about the mysterious 'Shiko'.

"Shi means death, doesn't it? And 'Ko'. That's 'child'. Child of Death? Am I overthinking this? ...I better call Evelina tomorrow and get this figured out."

**|Theio Kosmos – Chieki Academy – Rooftop|18:00 pm|**

Asami and Keiya were waiting patiently at the top of the school, and as they saw Hanashima Hospital, they shuddered. Had things gone according to plan, they would not have needed to have battled Astraeus, nor would they have lost the Cognition Core. Now, the Fortress they had used was lost to them, and the hospital had become an ordinary place. Their failure still stung, and neither of the Admins had yet to redeem themselves in the eyes of Nisa Liat.

"...We must not make any more careless mistakes." Keiya said.

"I know that. Nisa Liat might smile at us all sweet, but..." Asami said, shuddering. "No. I won't end up like the runts."

Just then, the door opened. It was Rinaka Tamura, looking quite tired. She had devoted herself to training, since her own defeat at the hands of their enemies.

"I take it the Gnosis was received?" Keiya asked, crossing his arms.

"Obviously. Evelina is mad about technology, as is that friend of hers. Of course they'd be drawn to it, like moths to a flame." Rinaka said, frowning. "Any attempt to decipher these devices outside of this world is meaningless, of course. Their only choice is to come to this world..."

"And submit to the Pleroma Princess."

Asami looked to the door, and saw they had a new guest. Clad in a far grander outfit she usually saw him in, he was dressed up in a blue suit, complete with white gloves and a matching rose in the breast pocket.

"Koyanagi-sensei..."

"Shiro. Did he attempt to reply to your message?" Rinaka asked. "Does he suspect 'Shiko' is you yet?"

"Patience, Tamura," Shiro said, with a small smirk. "He hasn't responded. Perhaps he thinks I'm a 'child of death', and is too afraid to answer. But he'll meet me and  **Mergen**  in this world soon enough. Then he'll learn his proper place."

"You hate a lot of your students, at least that's what Asami tells me," Keiya said, somewhat bluntly. "Yet why is this Yukimora child so worthy of your attention?"

"Let's just say, every time I look at him, I remember the past," Shiro said. "A past that ended far too painfully. It earned me the undying hatred of one man and cost me a future with the woman I loved. That's all I'll say, for now."

"You don't have to tell us the whole story. After all, we all have our painful histories. That's why Nisa Liat chose us in particular. The ones that have been ruined by this city. Thus, in turn, we bring 'ruin' to Shinshuto." Rinaka said.

"And from ruin comes rebirth," Asami said. "My friends might just end up in high school after all with me. And I can introduce them to Natsumi. If only that could have happened without any of this. Still, after the Cognition Cores are all together, reality itself can change, and there will be no more room for regrets."

"Regrets. I can't recall a single day where I haven't blamed myself for the past." Keiya said, as he looked at the deck of cards in his hand. "When the city renews, so shall I."

"Renewal...yes. That's what we need. No more 'surviving' painful incidents. Eliminating them from history. Making others the way they should be – happy, and with us, not against us." Shiro said, adamantly.

He turned to face the buildings surrounding the school. As he did, he caught glimpse of a cemetery near by, and shuddered. The others looked at each other in confusion, unsure what exactly he was reacting to. Finally, Rinaka spoke.

"...Shiro and I will continue the plan tomorrow." The former policewoman said. "You two are on standby. Everyone else is keeping a close eye on Ginumi."

The four of them left shortly after that, leaving nothing but an empty school, and an uneasy aura hanging over it. Before long, 'Rita' and 'Shiko' would show their true faces. No one yet knew whether tragedy or joy would follow.


	29. Escaped Emotions

**|May 14th|Totsuka - Bella Donna|12:45 pm|**

The group had assembled today, to discuss what the twins had reported. Both Natsumi and Masato were rather anxious, and even the presence of the others hadn't quite cooled them down. They made their way up to the food court, but after waiting several moments, it became clear Noburo wasn't coming. They got to their usual table, and began their meal.

"I guess it's still too soon. Maybe we'll see him at school tomorrow, though. We can fill him in then." Shintaro said. Kohaku sighed, sadly, while Akira looked at her with pity. "So what's going on?"

"Long story short. Two of our senpai at school – Toshiaki and Evelina – found a Gnosis each in the Practice Building." Masato said. "They've not been able to do anything crazy with them yet, I think, but..."

Shintaro gulped. It couldn't be. Had Bythos already found a new victim to infest with EX-NIHILO? Or two? This had to stop, he decided. After his rendezvous with Celestine, he understood just how important this was.

"Was it Asami?" Akari asked, angry. "Ugh, she's so annoying! Her videos are all over the internet, even more than ever! I can't get away from her!"

"I don't know for sure. One of the Azure Squad used to attend Chieki, but she's been absent for quite a while now..." Natsumi said. "It probably was Asami. I don't...I don't want to think anyone else at school is at Bythos."

"We need a plan. Do we know where your senpai like to meet when they're not at school?" Kei asked.

"N-Not really..." Masato said, flustered. "We've not hung out with them outside of school. They just chat with us sometimes. They're pretty popular. Good looking, athletic, and clever. But they've never been stuck up. Toshiaki's a real bro to the whole school, even if Koyanagi-sensei hates him."

_I've heard Masato talk about this Koyanagi before. He sounds like a terrible teacher that takes pleasure in belittling those he doesn't like. Nothing like Suzuki-sensei, she knows how to do her job right. If only Masato and Natsumi had gotten into our school._

"Evelina's so cool, too. Of course, she's also Svante Solberg's only child. Maybe that's why she was targeted by Bythos, and given a Gnosis..." Natsumi said, somewhat horrified by the thought.

"Why Toshiaki, though? What does he have to do with Bythos?" Akari asked.

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter. We have to dosomething, and quickly." Kei said, adamanetly. "We must never let anyone face the same fate as Teruko. Evelina, Toshiaki, whoever they are, we have to save them."

The group nodded. Even if they still hadn't formed a clear plan yet, at least they felt a surge of motivation rise. Indeed, Shintaro felt his heart soar, as he saw Kei's fierce eyes.

"Why don't we check our phones and see if there are any strange Shadow signatures in the areas we've been to?" Kei asked. "It's pretty useful for me. I just acquired Leanan Sidhe not so long ago from Sogen Park."

"Really? When did that happen?" Akari asked, confused.

_I know what a Leanan Sidhe is, but I never saw Kei meet one in Sogen Park. Wait, we haven't even been there for a while._

"Oh, it wasn't with you." Kei said, awkwardly. "I've been alone a few times. Only for brief moments at a time, to briefly look at areas and see if there are any good Shadows around. There are hundreds of possible Personas that I could potentially use, and I want to meet them all. Even if they are ugly things like Hsing-Hsing or Taowu..."

"You shouldn't really go to the Theio Kosmos all on your own. Even you could get in trouble just by yourself." Kohaku said, worried.

"I can take care of myself. I've been doing that long enough, anyway." Kei said. "...Let's see. If the two Gnosis were left in Chieki Academy, maybe investigating that school in the other Kosmos would help us get to the bottom of it. What do you all think?"

"Huh..." Masato said, having a moment of reflection. "We're really going back there? It's just a boring old school with a big ass tree in this world, but over there, it was that crazy place that made me think it was the apocalypse. And that weird Oni thing showed up. Only to get slaughtered by the EX-NIHILO inside of me..."

Shintaro was quiet, trying to think of something comforting to say. However, Kei spoke up.

"I know it's going to be tough, especially if you end up on that rooftop again. But after what we've been through, I don't think we can afford to be afraid anymore." She said. "Fear won't make us strong enough to defeat anything but ourselves."

"You're kind of brutal sometimes, Kei-chan..." Akari said.

Masato smiled. "Maybe, but she's right. I can't just avoid that school in the Theio Kosmos."

"Then once we're done with lunch, we'll go and check things out." Natsumi said. "Who knows, we might see Asami there. If we do, I want to tell her off for getting mixed up in this madness. Maybe she'll listen to me"

They eventually finished their meal, and after leaving their food court, they vanished to the other world, completely hidden from the eyes of most passersby. Yet three dressed in green coats had noticed, and their leader smirked.

"They think they're so clever, don't they?" The rude-looking boy said. He swept a hand through his slicked back, and somewhat shiny brown hair. Somewhat muscular, he was the most athletic of his group.

"That girl with the glasses is really cute. Don't you think so too, Itaru?" Another boy said, a taller but more slender young man. He had ginger hair, parted and quite short, with one persistent curl in front of his forehead.

"Atsuto, you've got no taste. That one with the orange stuff on her hair is the real cutie." The last boy, with curly blonde hair – shaved at the sides – said. He seemed to be the shortest of the trio, standing a full feet under their leader Itaru.

"Futoshi, Atsuto, shut the hell up!" Itaru yelled. "We've got a mission. Keep those fools at bay until our bosses carry out their plan."

"Fine..." The other two said, sighing. With Claret out of action, and Azure MIA, it was between them and the all-female Goldenrod Squad to prove which of the Tetra Squads was the best Bythos had. Itaru could finally prove to Rinaka he was worthy of her attention – as long as they excelled in their mission.

"We'll not let those stuck-up girls have their way. This time, the Jade Squad will be on top!" Itaru yelled. With one tap on his bright green Gnosis, the three young boys disappeared, as the other shoppers walked straight through where they stood.

**|Theio Kosmos – Arms Race|12:50 pm|**

Today was a slow day for the Titan Tyrant, and with nothing in particular going on in his ordinary life, he was busy rocking away in his store. The entire place was literally shaking with the sheer volume of his guitar, amplified by special speakers he had procured with his hard earned money. However, he saw someone venture inside, and stopped, running up to the counter.

"Yo!" The Tyrant, or Kazushi, said, running up to the counter. It turned out to be Netuno, one of the first customers he ever served. "Got some goods for me?"

"You got it, pal." Netuno said, shaking his fellow musician's hand, and transferring the materials from Shadows he had defeated to Kazushi. "There. So, you think you can make a new Axe?"

"I dunno about that, those might be a little heavy for your weedy arms." The Tyrant said, quickly dodging Netuno's half-serious punch. "But I can make you a new guitar..."

Within moments, a new red guitar was created, one that had the power to drive the enemy berserk. Netuno admired it carefully, and nodded, exchanging some cash. He took it into his hands, and played a few chords.

"Alright! This is gonna work out great. With all that's been going on, I've been needing something to cheer me up."

Kazushi looked up, and let out a sad sigh.

"Yeah, I know. That poor girl. She and her boyfriend went to one of your gigs, didn't she? Sometimes, it makes you wonder if there's any justice in this damn world."

"You talking from personal experience?" Netuno asked.

"Ah...nothing worth mulling over." The Tyrant looked up, seemingly reflecting on his own past years. "But things are working out well now. I'm making some good money this way. I just wish these guitars were usable in the real world."

"Please, no guitar is as good as yours or mine." Netuno said, smirking. "Mine might have the edge, though."

The Tyrant rolled his eyes, and laughed. "So, how's Lenore doing?"

Netuno looked away, and thought. He had been so distracted with fighting Shadows and Bythos recently, he hadn't paid too close attention to his band's singer. Yet it seemed the other two were looking after her well.

"She's trying to keep it together. But it's hard. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with that goofy businessman. And he was a good guy, too." Netuno said. "We're actually going out tonight for some drinks in Tarumi. Wanna join us?"

"Hmm..." Kazushi said, thinking. "Well, if I can hear her voice and not yours for a whole evening, I'm in!"

"Great!" The blue-haired guitarist said. "Ever since we came here, we've met a lot of musicians. Some gave us a hard time, but you sure helped us get going back in our darkest hour. I really oughta properly thank you sometime."

"No sweat, man. You gotta help a brother out, right? Especially when he can barely speak the language. Now you know words even I don't know." Kazushi said.

"Ah, I was wondering why this place was so eerily quiet. Compared to usual, anyway."

Two more people had wandered in – and they were two other shopkeepers, the Card Curator and Master Raine. Today, she had elected to wear an even more perplexing outfit, complete with a hat made out of nougat. The Curator bowed politely, while Master Raine gave him an odd look.

"Good afternoon, Hiramoto-san." The Curator, or Noriyuki, said. "Have you not checked your Gnosis device's news updates? Even our Merchant ones give us information on Shadows daily."

"Huh? I keep you telling you, I'm the Titan Tyrant!" The man sighed, and for a second, Netuno thought the man's tattoos of the gods were getting angry as well. "What's going on in the city, old guy?"

"...He's only 42, you know." Reika, or Master Raine, said, frowning. "Maybe this is why we Merchants don't meet up that often..."

"Okay, what's going on?" Netuno asked. "You've got me all worried now..."

"It may be faster to look at your own device, Fonseca-san." The Curator said politely, pointing to the device exposed in Netuno's front pocket.

Netuno hastily grabbed his phone, and saw the text alert.

**SHADOW ALERT!**

_An Anomaly Shadow has escaped from Mizuho's Umeda Underground Mall._

_The amount of Shadows detected in Kita Crossing has drastically fallen, however it's current location is unknown at this time, other than it is believed to still be in the Mizuho Area._

_It is ranked at Threat Level 4, however the reasons for this classification remain unknown at this time._

_Those preparing to engage this Shadow should exert the utmost caution._

"...Another one of those weird Shadows?" Netuno asked.

"What's an Anomaly Shadow?" Kazushi asked. "Never seen one..."

"Are they edible?" Master Raine asked.

"Edible? Why are you curious about that, Reika-san?" The Curator asked, somewhat disturbed. "You were convinced that Jack Frost tasted like ice cream..."

"Shadows come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There's got to be at least one that tastes of sweets. Maybe I can use it's carcass for new flavours!" Reika said, grinning evilly.

"...Good luck with that." Netuno said. "I don't really get it. Anomalies apparently are human beings that are turned into Shadows. But how the hell Bythos are doing that is beyond me. Looks like I better report in. Catch you later, guys."

The guitarist ran out swiftly, preparing to transport himself to his comrades.

"I hope he doesn't run into trouble. Him and his allies are good people." Noriyuki said, smiling.

"Yeah, damn straight. Makes me want to work that bit harder to support them." Kazushi said.

"Anomalies? Humans turned into Shadows? That's creepy. If something like that happens, what part of them is still human?" Reika asked, anxiously. "Maybe I don't want to eat one of them after all..."

**|Hiyashi – Omni Hub|12:55 pm|**

Toshiaki and Evelina were not to be found in Totsuka or Mizuho today. Rather, they had elected to meet in Hiyashi, to meet up in one of their favourite computer hobbyist and repair stores, the Omni Hub. The store's proprietor was known as the Professor due to his encyclopedic knowledge. While he took a great interest in their Gnosis phones, he had no further insight into them than they did.

"...Even the Professor didn't recognise them." Toshiaki said, sad. "What the heck do we do now?"

"Chill out, Toshi. It just shows what kind of challenge we have ahead of us." Evelina said. "It's like my dad always says. If one method fails, go onto another."

"I guess he didn't become head of Aramis Japan because he was dumb..." Toshiaki said, smirking. "Although being related to the CEO of the main branch probably helped too."

"Well..." Evelina said, sighing. "There is that. But my father's a very shrewd man. His hard work has really made Aramis a name to contend with in Japan."

Indeed, Aramis was performing excellently in Japan, especially their online sales division. They had some excellent marketing strategies as well, with some very charming advertisements both in print, on TV, and online. Yet there were constant rumours they had a hand in the decline of many rival businesses, which Evelina couldn't help but read into.

"Hey, you look distracted. You see a cute girl?" Toshiaki asked. "I can be your wing man..."

"Knock it off, Toshi!" Evelina said, sighing. "No, I didn't. I was...worried about that article that's trending online about Aramis. The one that claims they stole inside knowledge of products other companies were going to launch."

"You worry too much..." Toshiaki said, smiling. He put his arm around her, and ruffled her hair. "Listen, we might as well hit the arcade. I wanna check my high score at  _Jack Bros 2: The Ripper_  hasn't been beaten."

"Please, you got that high score twelve years ago..." Evelina said. "It's the only thing I can't beat you at."

"I know. It's only one arcade game, but it's at least one victory I can hold onto!" Toshiaki said, laughing. The two started to head to the bus stop, but as they did, both their Gnosis devices started vibrating.

Evelina took hers out, however it didn't seem to be lit up. Yet as she moved it, she noticed the vibration increase in intensity. Toshiaki noticed the same thing, and they exchanged intrigued looks.

Without a word, they continued to follow each of their phone's persistent motion. Eventually, it took them to the centre of the Keyaki Hills. The building was full of shoppers as usual, with nothing particularly exciting going on.

"The heck?" Toshiaki asked. "We've not fallen into some big trap, have we?"

"Hard to say..." Evelina said. They eventually saw a giant column, one of the few no one was loitering around. Their phones finally stopped shaking as they reached it, and they noticed something bizarre. A QR code, but it seemed unlike any they had seen before.

"...Hang on." Toshiaki said, slowly lifting his regular phone up to it. It tried to scan it, but with no luck. "Huh?"

Evelina looked at it closely, and put her hand on it. It didn't feel any different than the rest of the column, although it seemed almost ghostly compared to others she had seen. Finally, she decided to try using the Gnosis' QR Scanner app – and as she did, she gasped. The screen turned black, but displayed strange text that seemed to leap out of the screen. Toshiaki checked his own Gnosis, and his started doing the same.

"Holy shit..." He said, gazing at the odd words.

**Welcome to Gnosis.**

**The time has come to test how far you are willing to go.**

**To reach insight into the world, your friends, and yourself.**

**From this moment on, you have a duty you must uphold.**

**You must work hard, young one, for many humans will be depending on you.**

**Don't be afraid.**

**You will see the world in a different 'light' now.**

**But you will not be alone.**

"Huh? What is this? Duty...?" Evelina asked, bewildered.

"I don't like this at all. Let's forget about these things and get the hell out of here!" Toshiaki pleaded, grabbing her arm. As he did, they noticed the world around them getting surrounded by blue mist, and a piercing white light suddenly eveloped their vision.

Both of the Chieki students screamed each other's names, but the howling winds around them overcome their voices. This sensation was like nothing they had felt before...

**|Toki's Apartment|13:00 pm|**

The Admin's day job didn't exactly offer as much as his acting roles, but Toki had managed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in Asakita – with a good view of the theme park. Kaii had come here for the first time, and now that he had recovered a decent amount of strength, he was eager to see his father's home.

"Not bad. Just need an air freshener to get rid of the old man smell." The young lad said, smirking.

"Already teasing me, are ya?" Toki said, amused.

"It's not that different from when I thought you were just the cool old guy in Bythos. Cooler than Shiro, anyway. And sure more sociable than Keiya. Does he really think girls go for moody, sarcastic, rude people?"

"You haven't seen his social media pages, have you? So many girls drooling over the wonderful Keiya-sama. It's enough to make me lose my lunch." Toki said, rolling his eyes. "Speaking of which, what do you feel like eating?"

"Maybe some cheeseburgers. Obviously the grilled variety." Kaii said, continuing to smile cheekily.

"...Well yeah, how else would you cook them? With steam?" Toki asked, oblivious. As Kaii took a look at his new bedroom, the older Aeon Admin began cooking.

_Wonder what's going on in the Theio Kosmos today? Probably nothing special, it's a Sunday after all. Still, you never know. And right now, I'm busy looking after my son._

Today, most of the others were busy, but he had been given time off due to the ordeal he had been through at Tarumi. He had run himself ragged, trying to look after Kaii and his dog. The pup was eating from his yellow bowl, happily wagging his tail. Spending so much time with this dog had been good for his soul, Toki thought, and he patted him on the head. Just then, he heard the doorbell.

"I'll get it. Stay there." Kaii said. He slowly reached for the door on his crutches, and managed to open it after some struggling. "Huh? What are you doing here?"

Toki looked up, and saw a young man standing there – Noburo, looking somewhat awkward.

"Come in, son."

Noburo nodded, and wandered in slowly.

"...You okay?" He asked Kaii, noticing the crutches.

"Well, I'm not going to win a championship belt yet, but I'm doing okay." Kaii said, smiling. "The old man's cooking some lunch. Smells great, right? Hey, is there enough for three?"

"Ah, I...I don't want to inconvenience anyone -"

Toki shook his head. "Don't be silly. You know you're always welcome here, that's why I gave you this address back in the hospital. Course, if you don't want to come anymore, that's fine."

"...No. I'll stay, if you two don't mind. Besides, it smells great! Better than mum's soup." Noburo said, managing a smile.

"Can't say I've missed that..." Toki said, shuddering. The three of them eventually sat at the dining table, and as their father served up, both boys stared in amazement at the food. "You really think they look that good?"

"Well, yeah, but they'd taste better without the plastic wrappers on the cheese." Noburo said.

Toki looked like he was doing everything he could not to swear. Yet, despite his faux pas, good cheer seemed to be returning to all of their lives, however fleeting.

**|Theio Kosmos – Chieki Academy|13:35 pm|**

The group arrived at the Academy's grand courtyard. However when they arrived, they saw something quite unusual. A trio of Shadows – High Pixie, Patrimpas, and Churel - were lying by the tree, incredibly wounded.

" **Who...was that...girl?** " High Pixie asked, as she faded away, leaving behind a strange dust.

" **She said...she was looking for her friends...and she'd kill anyone who wasn't them...what happened to make her so...unhinged?** " Patrimpas asked longingly, fading away.

The Churel was considerably less verbose, only capable of making grunting sounds, but vanished in pain. Natsumi ran towards where they had been, but it was too late – there was no further sign of the previous encounter.

"Looks like we've got a vengeful spirit." Shintaro said, shuddering.

"Do Shadows often attack other Shadows?" Kohaku asked.

"Don't ask me. There aren't exactly nature documentaries on the subject." Masato said, shrugging. He look a long look at his school, from the giant tree to the ornate clock, and turned more serious. "We oughta give this school a good search and find this mystery Shadow. It might not be the EX-NIHILO, and it might have nothing to do with Toshiaki or Evelina, but we can't just let it rule the roost here. This is my school – not the Shadows'!"

"Right! But how do we go about this?" Kei asked.

"Well, one group could take the Practice Building, the other could handle the main building." Kohaku suggested. "Kei, how about you and Natsumi take the Practice Building with me?"

"Okay. Masato, can you handle the main building with Shintaro and Akari?"

The baseball prodigy nodded, clenching his fists. "We're not going anywhere until we find that Shadow. Let's go, team!"

The two trios made their way into the school, wondering just what kind of Shadow was waiting for them. Another human being forcibly turned into a monster, just like the others. Would any humanity remain? Was there no hope of recovery?

Shintaro wandered into Chieki Academy's entrance, considering if any of these hopes were worth dreaming of.

**|Toki's Apartment|14:00 pm|**

After lunch was over, the three sat in the living room, and Toki turned on the TV. A rather low budget horror movie was on, titled  _Attack of the 56k Modem._ Noburo was barely paying attention, but it seemed to be about a discarded obsolete modem which became sentient and began its murderous rampage.

" _And it took over when Desmond tried to download that movie...!"_ One rather panicked man said, as the music suddenly started to get eerie.

" _Oh my GOD! When did it finish downloading?!"_ The rather hysterical leading lady asked.

The music stopped, and the man, ashen faced, looked deep into her eyes.

" _It never did."_

The woman screamed shrilly, as the camera zoomed out dramatically and a dramatic choir began singing. Noburo sighed deeply, and turned off the TV.

"Oh, thank god, all that techno babble was getting on my nerves." Kaii said, relieved.

"What's up, my boy?" Toki asked, serious.

"Well, you see...Teruko's funeral is next week." He finally said, averting his eyes from the floor. "Mum took me to get a suit...she wanted me to look the best I could. It's the first time I've ever been to a funeral. Why did it have to be _her's_ , though?."

"I wish I knew, kid." Toki said, morose. "...That girl deserved so much more. She should have had a long, full life. Treading the boards, or whatever else she wanted to do. And with you by her side."

"Whatever happens, you have the two of us. And your mother's always looking out for you, isn't she? Toki told me about Kaiyo. She sounds like a really great mum. And Shigeru might be a stiff, but he really cares about you too. Basically, we'll help you through it as long as you need us."

Toki nodded at this elder son's words. Yet he was dreading the possibility of meeting Shigeru Komatsu again. They had never once been on friendly terms, but that was mostly down to Toki's past actions. Even if they reached some kind of mutual understanding, it wouldn't be pleasant for either man to be in the company of the other. If it was for Noburo's sake, however, then Toki would do anything at all.

"What about your friends? Pretty sure they're all worried about you too." He finally said, gently. "They seem like good kids, like you."

"They are...Shintaro and the others have been texting me a lot. They were meeting in Bella Donna today. Masato and Natsumi had something big they wanted to discuss with everyone, but they never told me what it was." Noburo said. Tears started to stream down his eyes, and he hurriedly wiped them away. "I wanted to go...but I would have ended up back in the Theio Komos again, wouldn't I? That world where Teruko..."

"You don't have to go back there if you don't want to." Toki said. "But your Persona was getting really strong. Even my Shadow was struggling to keep up with you."

Kaii put his arm around his brother, and gave him a stern look – which for him, was quite a rare event.

"There's still a lot you and your friends have to do. And Persona users aren't exactly all over the place. You're still here, in this world. Use your power in the other world, and help your friends help this city. I think Teruko would be happy with that."

"...Do you think so?" Noburo said. He looked out the window, and saw the giant Ferris wheel he and her had sat in. Their plans for the future was gone. But the future itself was still there – it needed someone to safeguard it. Him, alongside Kei and the others.

"Kaii, don't pressure him -"

"No. He's right, Dad." Noburo said, no longer tearful. "Teruko...is gone. But not EX-NIHILO. Not the Shadows. And not that bitch Nisa Liat! So I have to go back." He stood up, and pulled out the Gnosis from his pocket. "Sorry, but I'm going right now. They'll be missing me over there."

"...Good luck. Tell Akari and the others I'll be there soon." Kaii said, happily. Noburo nodded, and ran out the door, and down the many flights of stairs. It was time to rejoin the battlefield. He had a feeling, more than ever, that now was the right time.

**|Chieki Academy – Practice Building 2F – Calligraphy Club|14:11 pm|**

Kei's group had been wandering the building, but it was surprisingly quiet beyond several stray Shadows. In between defeating them, and Kei fusing some new ones, the group had a good look at the various club rooms, including the Electronics one that the stray Gnosis had been left in, but there was no sign of anything odd.

"Your school has a lot of good clubs, Natsumi-chan." Kei said, as they prepared to enter the Calligraphy Club's room. She opened the door, and there, they saw three boys. Two of them were sitting on chairs, while the third was casting Media repeatedly on them.

"...Are you okay  _now_?" The healer of the team said, clad in a green version of the Bythos squad uniform. "This is using up a lot of energy, you know! Energy I could use to actually fight Shadows, rather than stop you two from being completely useless!"

"Oh, whatever. Thanks to your endless compassion, we're alive and well." One of the injured boys said. "You're a real dick sometimes, you know. Even worse than Hisaya."

"Don't compare me to that bitch! I'm not going to end up like her. None of us are -"

"Dude! We've got company!" The other one said. The boys turned around, and saw the three girls, giving them odd looks.

"Ah, we forgot you guys were coming." The leader of the boys said. "Name's Itaru. These guys are Futoshi and Atsuto."

"How you guys doing?" Futoshi asked.

"...Why the hell are you asking them that?" Itaru smacked Futoshi across the cheek, while Atsuto edged away. "Be serious!"

"You boys don't seem quite as close as the Azure Squad did." Kei asked. "Whatever became of those three?"

"I dunno. They disappeared after that big mess in Tarumi. We've got them down as MIA. If they show up after being gone for so long, they're in big trouble." Itaru said. "Kind of like you guys."

"What do you mean?" Kohaku asked. All three of them had such snivelling looks – she couldn't stand either of them already.

"Our leadership had a feeling you'd turn up here, looking for clues. So we were assigned to arrive here and intercept you, just long enough to stop you from getting in the way of our bosses." Futoshi said.

"Yeah, but then one of those weird Shadows escaped, and found us here. We just barely managed to retreat." Atsuto said, grimacing. "Thank god it found some Shadows to kill instead, otherwise we could have ended up the Grilled Squad."

"I see. And just what are your bosses doing that they don't want interrupted?" Kei asked. "Would it have something to do with the two Gnosis devices left behind in this building?"

Futoshi laughed, while Itaru smirked, stepping forward.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But by the time we're done, it'll be too late for you to do anything about it." He said, amused by this very thought. "It's a shame, though. Apparently, those two have a higher potential for having a real Persona than we ever did. Even so, we're still stronger than all the other Squads! So let's do this!"

He clicked his fingers, and he and his three allies had their weapons and Personas ready. Itaru grinned as the light from the window shined on his metal claws, channelling the legendary bird Rukh. At the same time, Atsuto swung around a naginata-type weapon called a Guan Dao. He also had summoned his Persona Momunofu, a spearman and guardian of Arahabaki. Futoshi, however, was disinterested in bladed weaponry, and instead produced a whip, which he cracked the ground with. Also emerging from his Gnosis was the fearsome looking Inferno, a perpetually burning ghost.

"Your comrades never defeated us even once..." Natsumi said, sticking her tongue out at the three boys, hands on her hips. "But I'm looking forward to beating the stuffing out of you!"

"It's on, bitch!" Atsuto yelled. "I'll cut you to shreds, right here, right now!"

The two groups collided, turning a calm room of art into an arena fuelled by the flames of battle.

**|Theio Kosmos – Keyaki Hills|14:13 pm|**

"...Huh?"

Evelina opened her eyes. It took her a moment to register what had happened. The place was completely empty, and all of the stores around her seemed to be closed. She sat up, feeling both a pain in her back from where she fell, as well as a piercing headache. When she reached for her Gnosis, the latter of the two aches seemed to intensify.

"Oww!" She yelled, standing up. Barely able to concentrate, she had a look at her device. It had a news alert. She read it carefully.

**SHADOW ALERT!**

_An Anomaly Shadow has escaped from a warehouse in Hiyashi._

_The breakout saw the warehouse take intense damage, and a path of destruction has been cut across the streets. It's current whereabouts are unknown, however it is believed to still be within Hiyashi._

_It is ranked at Threat Level 4, however the reasons for this classification remain unknown at this time._

_Another Anomaly Shadow has been detected today, of the same threat. It may be possible these Shadows are connected to one another._

_Those preparing to engage this Shadow should exert the utmost caution._

Evelina blinked, in utter confusion. This was even more bizarre than some of the spam emails or texts she had received. Whatever an 'Anomaly Shadow' was, it was not something she wanted to get involved with. Perhaps she could report this as a spam message.

Before she could peruse her Gnosis further, there were sounded of footsteps. She turned around, and screamed. There was something advancing towards her. It was an evil-looking, emaciated corpse like being. Her Gnosis provided an image of the being, describing it as a 'Ghoul'.

" **I eat...** " It said, stretching out its hands as it neared her.

"STAY AWAY!" Evelina pleaded. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, to the entrance – but the doors were locked shut. She banged on them as hard as she could, screaming for help. Nothing around looked like it could protect her from this strange creature, and from what it looked like, she was alone.

" **No one here to save you. I kill you!** " The Ghoul said, its voice echoing menacingly throughout the room. Evelina gasped. It had suddenly increased in pace, and was moments away from striking her.

"Toshiaki! Where are you? Do something!" Evelina begged. There was no sign of her friend. This could be her last moments, she realised. Her heart was beating faster than it had ever done before. She shut her eyes, hoping this would be quick and painless. But with her repulsive demonic murderer inches away, she knew this was a dim hope.

Once she closed her eyes, however, she saw a blue butterfly floating past. And then a man spoke to her in a commanding tone. Time seemed to stand still.

**One who bears the burden of potential, heed my voice. My name is Philemon. Your existence will soon reveal its true complexity, yet this is nothing to fear. Once you truly know yourself, and why you continue to exist, life can begin anew, and you can wield your own identity as power. Answer me this question. What is your name?**

"Evelina Solberg!"

She opened her eyes, and there was a huge swirl of blue mist around her – blocking the Ghoul's vicious attack. The pain she had once felt now became a calm serenity, a fuller understanding of herself. And she knew what this sensation was called.

**The time has come for you, and the one who will be your eternal friend for generations to come, to peer into yourselves. The side of you that no one has seen before...command it. Whether it be a goddess or a demon...it is you!**

The abomination ahead no longer seemed to scare her, even as she stared in its revoltingly heinous eyes. Rather, she felt in complete control. It growled in anger, and tried to attack – but was stopped by the word she called out next.

" **Persona!** "

A tremendous explosion of blue light emanated from her body, and Evelina stood strong, as the winds generated by her own soul engulfed the area. The Ghoul screamed in terror, as it saw a figure come from below.

Slowly floating from the sky onto the ground was a woman clad in a long, sleeved green dress, that had a pattern of various hexadecimal codes. With silver boots, and matching leather gloves, she stood tall, and devoted to protecting her new master. Her long golden curled hair stretched almost to the floor, and in each of her hands was a silver futuristic laser pistol, each with a long barrel.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Aoife, she of Skye who mastered the art of war to bring conflict itself to finality.**

"Aoife..." Evelina said, mesmerised. "This beast must be destroyed! Now!"

Aoife nodded in agreement, and as her lips curled up in a sinister smile, she summoned forth power of a cursed nature, transforming itself into a blast of Eiga. The Ghoul flinched, and started to step backwards.

" **You scary. Me no want to die!** "

It was odd. In a short space of time, she had gone from being terrified to being full of confidence, enough to terrify this dreadful animated corpse. Now she was going to put it to its final death.

"Aoife! That gun of yours better not be for show. Destroy that thing, now!"

The Persona took aim, and with both her guns, fired a swift Dual Shot – two bullets that went straight through the demon's chest. It collapsed, and vanished, groaning in agony. Aoife vanished, and now all seemed to be over.

"...Aoife. Thank you." Evelina said. "Or should I thank myself? Hmm..."

Shrugging, she looked carefully around. The place was deathly quiet, and there was no activity on the ground floor. The front doors were still shut, and wouldn't budge. Desperate, Evelina called out Aoife, who came immediately.

"Get us out of here!" She begged.

A hurricane of bullets were launched at the doors, but not one of them managed to break any of the glass. Evelina fell to her knees, in total despair. How could she escape from here if even her 'Persona' wasn't able to break this barrier?

_This isn't fair! I want to go home! But first, I've got to find Toshiaki. Wait until he sees Aoife. He'll freak. Oh god, what if another one of those zombies is after him? I've got to find him, now!_

She ran up the stairs, calling out his name. Surely, she wasn't the only human left alive in this world. There had to be a reason someone left this paranormal smartphone for her to find. And she intended to find out – as soon as she located her best friend.

**|Chieki Academy 3F|14:22 pm|**

Shintaro, Masato and Akari had been exploring the school's main building for quite some time. They had seen chaos everywhere, starting from the shoe lockers which had been set on fire, and several classrooms completely burned to ash. This kind of behaviour was not like anyone, or anything, they had ever come across in this world. The third floor was utterly devoid of Shadows, but there lingering traces of where they had been.

"This is insane!" Masato cried angered at the wreckage around him. "Who the hell did this to my own school?"

"They might be at the rooftop. Waiting for us..." Akari said, nervous.

"Then let's go." Shintaro said. He lead the way, and as he opened the door, his eyes widened with shock.

There was someone already waiting for them. She held her hands behind her back, and bowed, with a mischievious smile. It seemed to be a young girl in a grey dress, with odd flower designs, and her skin was a light blue. Yet her body emitted an orange glow, and her eyes twinkled purple. Her black hair had blue tips, and was tied into a long ponytail. In her hands were a distaff and spindle, combined with blood-red thread.

" **You know, this is such a nice school! Way better than behind locked in an empty store in that ugly mall! Oh, and I'm Nona, the Life Measurer! Pleased to meet you!** "

"...Another of  _those_  types of Shadows." Masato said, shuddering. "Just like that Nox you told me about. And then there was that weird Nemo scene one."

"Not to mention, Astraeus..." Shintaro said, shuddering at the thought. Not far from here was the place they had fought and eliminated the Ancient Astronomer, putting an end to Ryosuke's existence. Even if he was gone, he had left plenty of scars in the families of Asami's three friends. Not to mention Asami herself.

" **Nox? Astraeus? You guys are such mythology nerds! But then again, I can't talk! Hehe!** " Nona said. " **I had a different name, and a different face. But that's all gone now! My horrible life has been washed away, and no one in this world gets to bully me anymore. No one tells me I'm worthless, that I'm ugly, that no one would ever want me! I'm finally free! Being a Shadow is the best thing that ever happened to me!** "

Shintaro wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. Did she earnestly believe being in this world as a Shadow was ideal, all on her own? That seemed a horrible reality to him. He looked away, flustered. The other two didn't seem to know what to say, either, until Masato spoke up.

"...Just like Dorothy." He said, shuddering.

"Dorothy? What...?" Shintaro asked.

"Every now and then, Dorothy talks to me about school. It's...horrible." Masato said, his lip quivering at the thought. "She gets bullied a lot, especially in Gym class. This bitch rival of hers does whatever she can to make her life hell. I want to go over there and give her a piece of my mind."

"You never told us any of this..." Akari said.

"I didn't even tell sis." The redhead said, looking up at the sky. "Dorothy tries to keep a brave face, but you can tell it still upsets her. Sometimes, I don't know what to say...so we end up changing the subject. But not being able to do anything, it's just -"

" **Boring! This doesn't have anything to do with me, anyway! So, you don't know where my friends are, do you? I've looked all over Mizuho, and I thought at least one of them would be here...** " Nona said, sadly. She clenched her fists, and stomped the ground in a tantrum. " **It's not fair! Why can't we just be left alone! If we had to be locked up, why couldn't it be together?** "

This rooftop seemed to be where unusual Shadows tended to gather. And this was one of the most unstable ones Shintaro had ever met. She may lack the parasitical abilities of EX-NIHILO, but he had no desire to discuss anything further with Nona.

"Does becoming a Shadow have to make you insane...?" Masato asked, saddened. "This is horrible..."

"What...should we do about this girl, Shintaro-kun?" Akari asked, bewildered.

"She's merely a Shadow. She's not a girl anymore..." Shintaro said. "And you've seen what she's capable of."

"Then it looks like we better take care of this, and fast." Masato said, sadly.

"I'm sorry, Nona, but we can't let you run free." Shintaro said, trying to stare at her with a brave face. But his confidence was faltering. Her smile quickly faded, becoming a truly monstrous scowl.

" **You jerk! Fine! I'll kill you all! And then I'll burn this school to the ground! There's no way my friends will miss seeing that! Once we're all as one, then we'll find Nisa Liat. She'll learn the hard way what happens when you try to split us up!** "

The strange girl charged at the team, arms outstretched. With no other choice, the team summoned their Personas, resulting in the second conflict that would take place in this fated Academy.

**|Keyaki Hills 3rd Floor – TechnoDome|14:30 pm|**

Toshiaki had somehow found himself much further away from the ground floor of the Keyaki Hills – now, he was on the third floor, just as immense as the last one. Yet the room he was in was shut, and had no windows to view the rest of the building.

This was one of his favourite shops, however, so he knew he was still in the same building. It was a cutting edge technology shop, specialising in home entertainment systems. The most modern TVs available, combined with high quality speaker systems, were on the left and right sides of the store. The ceiling was a glowing blue dome, giving the place an eerie neon glow.

Yet the televisions seemed to be displaying strange images, of what looked like old photographs. When the runner came closer, he gasped. He knew three of the people in them quite well. One was his father, Tetsuo, with a much livelier expression and his hair had lustre and more volume. There was one who was definitely his late mother, who had the same ponytail he had seen in various photographs at home. Kaede, she was called. When he saw the next woman, he couldn't quite identify her. She looked pretty, he thought, especially her black curly hair and the glasses she had on. But the other man he knew quite well.

"Koyanagi...?! Willowing Warpath knew my parents?"

He felt his Gnosis vibrate. There was a text message from 'Shiko'. But it read more like a script. Confused, he read on.

**We used to be as one, but now nothing remains. One's heart remains cold to the touch, frozen over. Another is trapped in the maze of despair, lamenting their inability to stop fate. The fourth is no more, and with her departure, the rift between those left behind grows ever wider. You can change all this. Just wait for my arrival.**

"I don't get this at all. What the hell happened with my folks and Koyanagi? And then this other woman...who's she?"

" **You waste your time and energy, pondering such insignificant matters. I'd rather talk about you and I, handsome.** "

Toshiaki turned around, and gasped. There, sitting sideways on a somewhat majestic camel, was someone who seemed to be a human woman, wearing an elaborate coronet, with a flowing white veil attached. She had a blue dress, with airy white sleeves, and her feet were bare apart from her purple sandals. She dangled her feet, giving the boy a flirty smile.

"Who the hell are you? They don't let you bring animals here unless they're service ones. That a guide camel for the blind?"

" **Ha! Don't be facetious. I am Gemori, the guardian of the past and future. I knew of your coming. I know everything, after all. Come now...forget about the sorry past of your parents and those mediocre teachers, and let us make love together. I'll show you amazing love which anyone would die for...!** "

"...How about 'fuck no'?" Toshiaki said, scowling.

" **But you're all alone, with no hope of rescue. What, can't a Shadow and a human enjoy an intimate moment? Like I said, you should forget about the past. I know who is showing you these glimpses Someone who bitterly regrets the events of years gone by, and seeks to re-establish the unity those four boring adults once held."**

"I'm not...in the mood, okay?! I don't even know what a Shadow is! Hey, you said you knew everything, right? Do you really know about me and my parents? And why that Koyanagi asshole is with them?"

" **You're quite a vexing young man to talk to. I'm almost starting to find you unattractive. ...Only kidding. Well, you can see these four were good friends. It started with them ending up in the wrong class, due to an error the college had made. Yet they kept meeting, finding something captivating in each other. Before long, their lives seemed to revolve around each other.** "

"...Huh." Toshiaki said. Now that he thought about it, he had talked about school one evening, and brought up Shiro, and how bad his teaching methods were. His father had snapped, and told him to quit complaining. Was that really just stress from his job, and being a single father of two? Or was there more to it?

"They never seemed to be apart, and swore an oath to always keep in touch no matter their plans. Yet after their fateful graduation party, something happened that distorted their harmonious bond. One tried to put on a happy face, but was jealous and outraged that his feelings would seemingly be unfulfilled. The other could tell something was wrong between her friends, but she hoped and prayed it would resolve itself. To this day, despite her own happiness, she cannot quite accept what she has lost."

"Just what are ya tryin' to say? Who was jealous of who?!" Toshiaki asked. Before the Gemori could respond, however, there was a great flash of light, and the area suddenly turned red. "You behind this too, lady?"

" **No! Something else is influencing this change in atmosphere. Get back!** "

The dome above shattered into countless pieces of glass, as another mystery female flew in. Her skin was lavender, and she had a blue glow, and piercing orange eyes. Her black hair had purple tips, and it was tied into girlish pigtails. Her only item of clothing was a white summery dress with bizarre black floral patterns, and in her hands was a heavy metal rod.

" **I knew you'd be here. But it seems you arrived before I had my chance with this ravishing young boy. Do as you please. Your time will be up soon enough. As will your other friends.** "

The new girl, angry, concentrated deeply – and a giant bolt of lightning struck down Gemori. Both the Duchess and her camel vanished instantly, leaving no trace. It was as if their bodies were composed of something inorganic.

" **It's great to finally be out of that dump! I couldn't stand being kept in that lonely warehouse, away from my friends. I'm Decima, the Life Measurer!"**

"Decima...?" Toshiaki asked. "What the heck are you? You and her aren't human, are you?"

" **That ugly old lady? That's just a Shadow. But me? I'm special. I used to be human...but my life was utterly miserable. Me and my friends were constantly being bullied. We couldn't stand it anymore.** "

_I don't even get what's going on anymore. What's a Shadow? Is this...the apocalypse?_

" **We were going to end it all. And we did, in a way. The three of us were invited to meet someone in secret. This lady who we thought was really nice, if a little creepy. She told us about 'Shadow Compression' – if we discarded our human bodies, and let our psyches become Shadows, we'd live on in a new world, and be free of the pain and torment forever!** "

"...So you're like a ghost?" Toshiaki asked.

" **You Neanderthal! We were reborn! Given new forms! Our original bodies died that night, and we started our new lives in the Theio Kosmos. But our powers were stronger than Nisa Liat expected. You see, because we're such good friends, when we're together we're practically unbeatable. So she got us all separated and locked us up, far away from each other. But then my seal weakened!** "

"Cool, but...why am I here?"

" **Dunno and don't really care! I'm finally going to see my friends again. Only this time, we're sisters, the Parcae! You're really starting to tick me off, though. I've missed using my new powers! Let me test mine against yours!** "

"What the hell?! What powers?!" Toshiaki exclaimed. Decima simply chuckled, as her aurora grew more intense. He ran for the door, but the handle refused to turn. Now it was his turn to be captured here. How would he escape from this?

**|Keyaki Hills 2F|14:40 pm|**

Exhausted, Evelina sat down on one of the cold metal benches. With no sign of Toshiaki, and no sight of any other monsters, she decided to use her Gnosis to try to educate herself about this new world she seemed to be in.

From it's data, she had gleaned that her foe was a 'Shadow'. And that Aoife was a 'Persona'. And she was no longer in the real world, but in the 'Theio Kosmos'.

"No wonder we couldn't get any information about these phones back in the real world..." Evelina said to herself. "The person who left us these must known this would happen. They wanted me to discover this power. But, if that's the case, where the hell is Toshiaki?"

She heard footsteps, and gasped. Jumping to her feet, she readied herself. This could be something even nastier than a Ghoul. However, she shortly realised this was a woman. A human one she recognised.

"Ri-Rinaka Tamura?!"

The purple haired woman nodded, and the two of them reached each other. Overwhelmed with relief, Evelina embraced her.

"What's all this?" Rinaka asked, gently.

"Finally...someone I know! You're not a zombie...right?"

Rinaka shook her head. "No, Evelina. It definitely is me. I was hired as a security guard for your father. It's my duty to protect your family."

"...This world. I don't get it at all. The Theio Kosmos, right? Where did you even come from?"

The woman smiled. She lifted out a smartphone from her own pocket – a Gnosis, just like the two Evelina had seen before.

"Then you must have the same type of power I have...a Persona." Evelina said.

"That's right. I know, it must have been frightening, fighting that monstrously ugly Shadow. But after I met you, I knew you had the same potential as me. Perhaps even greater."

_What? She knows about my fight with that Shadow? But, why didn't she step in and do something?! What is Miss Tamura talking about?_

"Evelina...there are those who have the same power as you that would seek to harm your father and his family's great company." Rinaka said. "Me and my allies have sworn to help him and countless others throughout this city. But there are only so few of us who have the genuine power that can fight them."

"People are trying to hurt my father? And bring down Aramis?!" Evelina said, shocked. "So..."

"Svante hired me and my entire company to protect him for at least a whole year. He wanted me personally to ensure your safety. From there, I offered him the additional protection our group could offer him. And so far, Aramis has surged, exceeding all performance predictions. Had those nasty rival companies had their way, your family could have seen massive losses...or worse."

Evelina was speechless. This bizarre alternate world could be used against the real world? And Rinaka was using her special powers to stop that?

"Rinaka...or, Miss Tamura. Who are your friends?" Evelina asked.

"You can't tell? I suppose you've been through quite a lot already this evening. Well, Evelina, I'm one of the nine Aeon Administrators of Bythos." Rinaka said.

"B-Bythos?! No!" Evelina said, shocked.

Before Rinaka could answer, she noticed her Gnosis vibrating. Angry, she answered the call.

"What the hell is it, Asami?!" She shouted.

"Geez, what's wrong with you? Listen, another Anomaly seems to have escaped. Nisa Liat claims she strengthened the seals, so they shouldn't have been able to run free like Nox or Mnemosyne, but...three of them are on the loose! And if they get together, they'll be a nightmare to deal with!"

_Wait, that's Asami Hamasaki's voice. She's one of these Adminstrators too? What the hell is going on here?_

"Dammit! Now?!" Rinaka yelled. "One of them is in Hiyashi, right?"

"Yes! And if it senses you, it might come after you!" Asami yelled. "I'm going to get ready and try to contact Keiya. I'll come find you as soon as I can! Stay safe!"

Asami hung up, leaving Evelina very confused. Just then, there was a huge sound of something crashing from upstairs, and the cries of a young man.

"Toshiaki!?" Evelina yelled.

"...This isn't how it was supposed to happen. Dammit. Fine, you're coming with me. I'll explain later. Hurry and follow me! And take these."

Rinaka hurriedly threw a pair of shiny navy handguns, which Evelina caught as if it was second nature. Without wanting to annoy the former police officer, she nodded, and followed.

_Please be alright, Toshiaki! Me and Rinaka will save you. I promise!_

**|Mizuho -Shinshuto City College|14:45 pm|**

Today had been a long day, even without any lectures to attend. Novalie was working on not only her latest assignments, but also her independent research on Japanese foreign relations. While some of her classmates found her penchant for study somewhat excessive, it was paying off, having achieved excellent marks. Her parents were quite proud, happily boasting about her smarts to anyone who would listen.

"And...finished." She said, closing her laptop lid. As she was about to leave, she saw someone else walking in her direction. "Oh, hey!"

"Hi!" Haruya, another student of the college, said. Her brunette hair was messier than her blonde friend's, and quite spiky. She had a penchant for cute t-shirts, such as today's light blue Jack Frost one. The perky young woman was studying to become a vet, and had met Novalie after joining the same swimming team. Even though they took mostly different classes, they had become good friends. "I was just heading to work. Can't believe it took me six hours to get that report done."

"You'll do fine." Novalie said. "It's been harder to find the time to study, lately. I just hope my grades stay the same..."

"Why wouldn't they?" Haruya asked, innocently. "I've been really busy too, though. A new part time job. Working with animals – at Pet Friends!"

"Oh, nice." Novalie said, happily. That was where the young Akari worked, she remembered. And Kaii of Bythos had once been employed there. She hadn't heard any news on either Kaii or Noburo for quite a while – perhaps she would contact Shigeru to ask what the story was. "I need to look into getting some work experience as well. Perhaps the city council will have positions..."

"The city council? You sure that's a good idea? You see - Oh, sorry, I've gotta run. See ya!" She swiftly hurried out the door.

Novalie shrugged, and started to make her own way out of the building. Just as she was about to ring Shigeru's number, her Gnosis started vibrating. Curious, she took it out of her pocket, and saw that it was Netuno ringing.

"What is it?" Novalie said, yawning. "Sorry, I've been working on my Political Science papers all day -"

"Something crazy's happening in the Theio Kosmos!" Netuno said, practically yelling.

"What are you talking about?" Novalie asked. "It's not EX-NIHILO, is it?"

"No! It's...those weird Shadows the kids told us about. More like them have escaped! One in Mizuho, and another in Hiyashi." Netuno said. "I'm trying to get everyone together. Michiko and Hiroyuki are on their way, and Reia's already here with me!"

Novalie went pale. She had been so preoccupied with her studies, she hadn't considered what was going on in the other world today. Even if she was tired from her hours laboring over her research, she knew this needed her full attention.

"You there, Novalie?" Reia said, having taken the phone from Netuno. "I've tried to use my drone cameras in Mizuho and Asakita, but I've not been able to find anything yet. We're going to split up to either of the two areas, and – oh god."

"Oh...god?" Novalie asked, worried.

"...Check your Gnosis' news app. It's worse than I thought." Reia said. Unusually for her, she sounded terrified. Slowly, Novalie found the app, and read the latest announcement.

**SHADOW ALERT!**

_An Anomaly Shadow has escaped from Ginumi's Golden Pearl residential area._

_The incident caused massive structural damage to several houses in the area and has left a gigantic sinkhole in the middle of the road. Its current location is unknown at this time, other than it is believed to still be in the Ginumi Area._

_It is ranked at Threat Level 4, however the reasons for this classification remain unknown at this time._

_Those preparing to engage this Shadow should exert the utmost caution._

"Ginumi? But that's where our..." Novalie said. "I'm on my way!"

Anxiety overriding her tiredness, she used her Gnosis to disappear from view. The Golden Laguna Hotel could be at great risk if this new Shadow sensed humans lurking there. She would need to defend it with all her might.

**|TechnoDome|14:50 pm|**

" **This is so much _fun_! Look how easy I can break these things!** "

The place looked as if a bomb had hit it – the supposedly sturdy televisions had been blasted apart by electricity. Toshiaki kept running, his high agility barely dodging her powerful lightning bolts. But he was beginning to feel fatigued.

" **Are you really not gonna to fight back? Come on, quit being such a wimp! You hate me for being so much better than you, don't you?** "

"...I hate whoever did this to you." Toshiaki said, angrily.

" **Oh, you mean Nisa Liat? Yeah, she did make me like this, but anything was better than going on living. I don't even remember my name! There were four of us, but only three got turned into Shadows, that much I do remember. I know! I'll meet my friends again. Nona and Morta! Then we'll see if we can find the fourth one of our friends and be together again! Make her a Shadow too!** "

"Shut up!" Toshiaki said, running away from another bolt of lightning. Decima's high pitched laughter seemed to echo violently in his ears. This 'Shadow' was clearly insane. He needed to get out of this place alive, or find some means to counter her power.

" **This is kind of boring, you being all deathly afraid...** " Decima said, with an exaggerated yawn. " **Let me kill you so I can get out of this stupid store! Please?** "

_No! I don't want to die!_

Out of nowhere, however, something seemed to hit the Shadow from behind, and she collapsed to the ground in pain. Toshiaki gasped – an arrow had hit her in the back, and it seemed to be glowing red.

_Where did that come from?!_

Part of the ceiling broke apart, and from down below, a tanned skin figure shrouded in blue energy appeared. He had long silver flowing hair and a handsome, yet scarred face. One of his eyes was blood red, the other orange. He had a silver quiver, and a huge black bow with golden parts. Atop his head was a white metal helmet, and he had a tunic and thick robes in the same colour. To complete this somewhat odd ensemble were a pair of knee high leather boots.

**I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Mergen, he who never fights with anything less than absolute wisdom and power.**

"...What the hell are you?" Toshiaki asked, but no answer was forthcoming. However, he heard footsteps behind him, and gasped. "Oh, god! Not...you!"

It didn't make sense. Today, the most hated person in Chieki Academy, and the worst teacher Toshiaki had ever met, had been the one to rescue him.

"Perhaps  _now_  you'll pay attention to what I have to say, Yukimora. Especially when it could save your life."


	30. Trinity of Woe

**|Ginumi - Hotel Aquarius – Hercules Room|14:30 pm|**

While the Golden Laguna Hotel was on the eastern side of Ginumi, the equally luxurious Aquarius hotel was on the west. With a breathtaking fountain in front of the hotel grounds, it was striking to look at, and boasted a huge outdoor pool and a five star restaurant. Decorated in many shades of blue, it was quite a beacon of Shinshuto's cityscape, often appearing somewhere on postcards.

In the Theio Kosmos, however, with no one else claiming it as their own, Bythos had decided to use it a special training centre and accommodation for some of their lower ranked soldiers. While the Goldenrod Squad did have access to the Ichiban Suite, those wearing the plain black uniforms were using the regular rooms. Today, two new recruits were practising fighting with the new Personas they had been given. The huge gymnasium had been remodelled into a combat arena, and several spectators were watching with great interest.

"Go!" One soldier, a boy of fifteen, yelled. "Poltergeist!" The mischievous ghost tried to Bash its opponent, using the chair it was holding, but missed.

"Ha! You got a dud!" A girl of the same age said. "I'll show you real power. Napaea!"

The fairy cast Aqua on the boy, hitting him with quite a splash. Angry, the boy rushed at her with his blade, but tripped – while she laughed out loud.

"Bitch! I'm gonna get you -"

"Enough!"

An adult man stepped forward, causing those in front of him to run out of his way, terrified. He grabbed the boy by the collar of his coat, and glared at him fiercely.

"Pitiful! How do you expected to be promoted to one of the Tetra Squads with a performance like  _that_?"

"I-I'm sorry, Keiya-sama! I promise, me and Poltergeist will do better next time!"

"If you get a next time." Keiya said, annoyed. He let the boy go, and sighed.

"Alright, take a break everyone. But don't go too far from this hotel. Contact us  _only_  if it's an emergency." Asami said, having stood in the corner. "And no, you're not allowed to use the outdoor jacuzzi."

The class of ten new members walked away to various other parts of the hotel, while Keiya and Asami took the elevator to the rooftop garden. As the elevator shot up, Asami couldn't help but laugh at her older friend's scowl.

"What are you laughing at?" Keiya asked.

"Nothing! You're just such a stern teacher..." Asami said. "Just wait until Shiro has to teach them. He hates teaching at normal school as it is."

"Shiro Koyanagi. What an incorrigible fellow." The card magician shook his head, and as the elevator opened, he walked out, followed by Asasmi. They walked through the glass doors to be greeted by the sight of the garden. It was even more beautiful to look at than Inoue Bank's HQ.

"Wow..." Asami said. She from the shopping bag she had brought, and sat at one of the tables by the second fountain the hotel had. A smaller one than the downstairs one, but it was perhaps even more iconic, bearing a likeness of the astrological water bearer himself.

"That's one advantage of being an Aeon Adminstrator of the Theio Kosmos. We get the opportunity to use this hotel as if it were our own home." Keiya said. He drank from his ginger ale, and sighed. "Of course, using the swimming pool in this world is just asking a Shadow to come and devour your soul."

Asami nodded, laughing somewhat. "I...never had any special feelings about this hotel. My parents are kind of well off, but they're jealous of the ad revenue I'm making. Thank god they don't have any access to my income. I just wish Ayako, Moriko and Takumi could have seen me become so successful..."

"You'll always miss them, won't you?" Keiya asked, somewhat sadly.

The video blogger looked up at the sky, which aside from the tint of blue being somewhat 'off', was largely like the real sky she had known all her life. "We...had so many dreams for our future, you know? But then Ryosuke tore them apart. He got to all three of them...he just didn't want us to feel happy. I still don't get how he could be such a psychopathic freak..."

"Even Grief Factor wasn't enough to make him realise what he had done." Keiya said. "Or worse...he knew what he had done, but was proud of it. Either way, he's gone. You don't have to seek vengeance anymore."

"I know...but I'm starting to wonder if it was worth it." Asami said, tearfully. "Natsumi and Masato defeated him in the end...I've turned them into murderers. As evil as Ryosuke was, even if he did become that horrible astronomer Shadow...he had family of his own. And he and Hisaya used to go to school together. By getting rid of him, we might have caused others to desperately seek revenge."

Keiya looked at her in surprise. "This isn't like you. Have you become soft? That bastard deserved it! Just as Yuchi deserves a truly dark end. Which I still intend to ensure myself."

"...But Keiya, is Nisa Liat really going to let you do that? She's refused to turn him into an Anomaly. And after we screwed up with Grief Factor, she won't let us use that either. What are you going to do?" Asami asked.

"I wouldn't panic. We have him in our custody, in a place not even our irritating enemies can reach." The man looked smug, and laughed to himself. "Perhaps what I'm doing is illegal. But I don't care. I want him to suffer.  _Terribly_. It's just a matter of gaining the recognition of the Princess. Once I've done that, she's bound to give me whatever means will torture him the most painfully..."

Asami winced, looking away. "If you say so. Even if you kill Yuchi Okamoto, after torturing him for god knows how long, what will you do then?"

"Good question..." Keiya said. "Perhaps manipulate this sorry world, and make myself a star actor. Even greater than that piece of slime. You never know,  _Death By Moonlight_  could make a triumphant return, and I can cleanse the role I should have played an aeon ago."

"At least you've got at least  _one_  plan for the future that doesn't involve killing someone else." Asami said. She tried to laugh, but it came out rather forced, and Keiya's expression did not lighten one bit. "...That aside, we need to work on the next Cognition Core. Where do you think it'll awaken next?"

"Good question. Well, there's been quite a lot of news about Aramis lately. There are a lot of rumours, denied vehemently of course, but most of which we know are true. They're drastically underpaying their staff, engaging in brutal corporate espionage, and Solberg is having a lot of issues with the CEO of the Swedish HQ." Keiya said. "And the Mayor's tax policies are affecting a lot of businesses, big and small. Especially Hiyashi."

"Mayor Ashikaga is one cold-hearted bitch..." Asami said, irritated. "Look at what Rinaka went through when she was in the police. She turned a blind eye, just because she didn't want to deal with the fallout. God, if only Nisa Liat would take over already -"

Before Asami could add to her comment, she was interrupted by her Gnosis ringing. She answered it, and immediately heard quite a commotion.

"H-Hama-sama!" One of the recruits, a girl who had attended her performance weeks ago, said. "It's an emergency! This thing...she's too much for any of us!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Asami asked. "What 'thing'?"

"I don't know! This Shadow that broke through the door and started blasting the whole place apart with her ice magic! We tried to fight it, but...she's too strong! We had to retreat..."

"Right...Where is it now?" She had a feeling she already knew. Keiya got to his feet, and readied his cards.

"I think she started going up the stairs!" The scared girl said. "I...I have to help the injured, don't I?"

"Yes. Do what you can. Me and Tsukino will take care of this." Asami said. She prepared her spear, and watched carefully. Sure enough, a ghostly looking girl came hurtling through the glass doors, breaking them entirely.

" **What a nice hotel, don't you think? And in this world, I can take it for myself and share it among my friends. No room for weak boys and girls like the ones you're babysitting!"**

The two Admins watched in shock. This was none other than an Anomaly Shadow in front of them. She had inhumanly orange skin, icy blue eyes, and a vibrant purple glow. Her dress was jet black, with bizarre floral designs all over them. In her right hand was a pair of blood red shears, with black rose designs on the blade.

"...Huh?!" Asami said, staring in shock. "How?! You're..."

" **That's right! I am the Life Severer, Morta! My friends, Nona and Decima, are waiting for me. First, though, I'm going to secure this place, and summon them both here. This will be our chance to rule this entire world on our own, with no one left to constrain us, or -"**

"No! No...you're...Takumi!"

There was an immensely uncomfortable silence, as Keiya looked between each of the girls. Morta floated there in shock, while Asami gazed at her in horror.

"...Asami. Who is Takumi?"

"She was..." Asami said, distraught. "One of my best friends...but she's dead! How...are you here?"

" **Asami? Huh?! No, I'm not...wait...what's happening?!"**

Morta clenched her head in pain, screaming in agony. Completely out of control, her body unleashed a massive Chaos Blizzard, hitting Asami. She was toppled by the severe cold of this icy blast, but Keiya caught her in his arms.

"A-Are you alright?! What's going on, Asami?"

"That's...definitely...Takumi..." Asami said, pale with horror. "Why does this Shadow look like her? She died years ago! With Moriko and Ayako!"

" **Moriko? Ayako? Takumi? Oh my god! Asami...?!** "

Keiya helped Asami regain her footing, however, she ran towards the Shadow, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Tell me  _why_! Why do you look like Takumi Kokubun?! She's dead! You're making herself look like her on purpose, aren't you?! I won't stand for that! Whoever you are, I'll end you!" Asami yelled. "C'mon, Keiya! Help me kill this impostor!"

" **I'm not...trying to imitate anyone! I'm only myself. Honest...!** "

"...Very well." Keiya said, summoning Sin. Joining him was Kaihime, looking even more indignant than ever. "We'll find out exactly what this Shadow is all about soon enough."

**|TechnoDome|14:55 pm|**

Toshiaki stood back, his head spinning. Everything that had happened since he scanned that code had turned his world upside down. Now, his least favourite teacher in the entire planet was here, claiming to be rescuing him from danger.

_I have no clue what's going on. But they say 'better the devil you know'. And I know a lot more about Koyanagi-sensei than I do this girl. Or is it more of a thing?_

" **Who the hell are** _ **you**_ **?!** " Decima yelled. " **I've got friends to meet. Or maybe it's better for them to come and find me first! In that case, I have to take this entire shopping mall for myself! Then I can make it for the three of us! So get the hell out of my way, or** _ **die**_ **!** "

She cast a potent Zionga, but Shiro bore the brunt of this thunder. Toshiaki shut his eyes, shaking, but the older gentleman had no such qualms with this fierce lightning. Mergen pointed his sword at the ground, and out of nowhere, the ground seemed to erupt, impaling the insane child with fierce rocks.

"Toshiaki. You may have a lot of questions. More than you normally do when you're in school. Right now, you ought to just stay quiet and let me vanquish this Shadow."

Decima was outraged. " **Don't treat me like I'm irrelevant! I'm not just a simple Shadow, aren't I? Nisa Liat** _ **made**_ **me who I am. But she locked me away, along with the rest of my friends! How could she do that? Were we not good enough for her anymore?! Why were we replaced by mere humans?!** "

"I have no interest in speaking with you, child." Shiro said, annoyed. "Children like you are all the same. Self-obsessed, uninterested in anything that can't excite them for more than five seconds. Unambitious, pathetic children, who won't listen to wisdom. Who will never learn!"

"You and her are the only pathetic ones here!" Toshiaki yelled, annoyed.

"I told you to be quiet! Do you want her attention on you?!" Shiro yelled, enraged. "I won't tell you again. Shut. Up."

" **Why don't you both shut up while I fry the two of you?!** " Decima yelled.

"Not likely. Mergen, Grim Launcher!"

Mergen's blade turned pitch black, and the Persona stood still. However, just as Decima began to advance, she was sent flying towards the ceiling by his sword, in one swift strike of the sword.

Shiro seized the opportunity, by quickly throwing what seemed to be a grenade in the air. It exploded, sending the Life Measurer across the ruined store.

_How does one of my own teachers have access to explosives? What kind of shady shit is he involved with?_

" **Ugh!** " Decima yelled, painfully getting back on her feet. Her eyes began intensely more vivid, and full of hate. " **You'll pay for that, you grotesque creep!** "

A massive lightning bolt struck the ground where Shiro was standing – he was hit by the full brunt of the blast, but despite the pain of Ziodyne, he stood strong.

"I refuse to simply abandon my mission. You're simply causing an unnecessary interruption." Shiro said.

" **I don't care about your stupid plans! I'll interrupt them as much as I like, until you and your plans are toast! Behold, the power of my -** "

Whatever she was about to demonstrate the power of, her show was interrupted – by another attack of the earth, a Magnadyne. Toshiaki didn't understand. They were several floors high. Where were all these rocks coming from? Or was it all from magic?

_Magic. That's just in the video games me and my brother play. Or in the cartoons I used to watch. Surely it can't be real! None of this is real. Can't I wake up soon, so I can find out I bumped my head or something?_

Decima was positively irate. From her fingertips, many azure lightning bolts shot out and darted all over the room, barely missing Toshiaki. There was no rhyme nor reason to where they went, but each one was deadly. The Wild Lightning was quite a show indeed.

However, just as her electric exhibition ended, she was struck powerfully by Mergen's almighty sword – four times, specifically, at a rapid rate. Despite the agility of his Quandra Strike, however, Toshiaki didn't seem as agile, and grunted under his breath.

"You should consider surrendering yourself. That way, we'll recapture you until we can find you a new purpose." Shiro said flatly. "Or if you'd really prefer death to incarceration, that can easily be arranged. All too easily - and painfully."

" **Will you stop talking already? You ugly, condescending bastard, I hate you so much!** " Decima hollered. " **Your ideas suck. I refuse either! I'm going to be free, without anyone or anything being able to do anything about it. Guess I'll just have to crush you. It won't hurt you too much. It'll be over too fast before you can even feel pain!** "

Her manic laughter sent shivers down Toshiaki's spine, but her next display of power terrified him even more. Out of the ground, a gigantic purple stone pillar shot up, wreathed in what appeared to be blue wailing spirits. The clock had just reached ten minutes past the hour, which seemed to turn the flames even more vivid. The Fate Pillar fell down on top of Shiro, and disappeared in a massive burst of smoke.

"Huh?! Koyanagi-sensei!" Toshiaki exclaimed. "Oh my god... You actually killed him, didn't you?!"

" **I sure did! Now, I'm gonna have to do the same to you. And anyone else that's around. Now, stay still so we can get this over with. Wait...** "

When the air dispersed, Decima's glee turned back to pure fury. Shiro was still standing there, somewhat fatigued, but without appearing to be at death's door.

"How the fuck did you survive that?!" Toshiaki asked, stunned. "And all that other magic? Just what the hell is all this?"

"Oh, so  _now_  you want to listen to my lectures?" Shiro said, smug. "Alas, right now I need to concentrate on neutralising this target before I can explain in more detail."

"You mean kill her?" Toshiaki asked. "...But that's a crime!"

"Now is not the time, boy. Unless what you're telling me is you'd rather die and let your murderer live to see another day?" Shiro asked. "I'm not about to let this being kill you or me. If that means I have to pierce this child's heart, so be it."

" **Bastard! No one messes around with my feelings anymore!** " Decima yelled. " **You just want to kill me and get back to whatever stupid scheme you had in mind for that kid, right? I refuse. All three of us, the Parcae, will take over this city. Me, Nona and Morta. Wait. There wasn't just three...there was someone else we used to know! She had...what did she...wait, I remember! She was the fiery one...Asami...?!** "

"Asami?" Toshiaki asked. Right now, his thoughts weren't quite in order, but he did know that name. "...Who?"

"Dammit. She was acquainted with  _Hamasaki_? I'm going to have to put a swift end to this. Yukimora, stay back while I -"

Suddenly, there was a bright purple flash, the door burst open. Immediately, two women ran in. One, Toshiaki realized, was Evelina. The other was a woman he didn't know, but seemed to be friends with the younger lady.

"It's about time you got here, Tamura."

"Deepest apologies. Bypassing the seal was harder than expected." Rinaka said, frowning. "Evelina, is that your friend over there?"

"Huh? T-Toshi! You're here too?!"

Evelina ran over, lending her hand to her sworn ally. He got to his feet, and embraced her out of sheer relief.

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|15:12 pm|**

The weather in June was somewhat intense this year, a feeling exacerbated by this rather fiery Shadow. Her human soul must have been a passionate one, Shintaro thought. If only her passion wasn't arson – then she might have been fun to have at parties. Dodging her fireballs was not exactly a safe party game in any house.

" **Don't you just love my flames? They're much prettier than any other Shadow's, bar none!** " Nona said, dancing with glee, as her Untamed Flames burned Akari, as well as the others. The bespectacled girl yelled in pain, as the flames burned bright for all of Mizuho to see.

"The power of destruction is  _not_  beautiful, Nona! How can you be so mistaken? Did becoming a Shadow make you bereft of all normalcy?" Shintaro asked, in despair.

" **You're an annoying geek, you know that? I don't care what you think is normal or not. I'm free, that's what matters most! And with the click of a finger, I can have you scorched to a crisp.** "

"Not before I have you blown away!" Shintaro shouted. "Garula!"

A turbulent blast of wind hit Nona, sending her dainty body towards the fence surrounding the rooftop. This was quickly followed by a fierce Zionga, as ordered by Masato.

" **Damn kid...you're just like** _ **him**_ **!** " The Parcae said icily, pointing at the baseball prodigy with utter hatred. Before he could ask who she meant, she began her assault, a surprisingly strong barrage of kicks and strikes with her weapon.

"Masato, no!" Akari said, worried. "Hang on, we'll get you out of this mess." She looked upwards at her Persona, and nodded. "Epona! Go!"

The psychadelic Psio collided with Nona, releasing Masato from her wrath, and he quickly struck her with his baseball bat – hard enough to make a painful cracking sound.

"If only I was smart enough to use psychic powers..." He lamented.

"Really? You think I'm smart?" Akari asked, enthusiastically. "Maybe someday I'll be Suzuki-sensei's favourite student."

"She doesn't have a favourite, silly!" Shintaro said, amused. "Although she has said she's proud of me quite a lot..."

" **Will you shut up and die already?!** " Nona yelled. She began swinging her distaff, and the red string hit Masato. Just as the clock struck 15:19, she cackled wildly, and her weapon took on an eerie glow – and the baseball player suffered incredibly. " **Ha! Just on time!** "

"What did she mean by that?" Shintaro asked. "Are we following a script of some kind, Akari?"

"Not that I'm aware of... Ah, but Epona just told me what that move was. It's called the Destiny Spinner, and gets stronger if it's used when the current time's minutes end in '9', for example 15:19!" Akari said. "I hate to say it, but in her case, time is of the essence. We could be in trouble if this battle doesn't end soon..."

"...Then we better make sure she can't use it the next time she has the chance." Masato said, groaning. "We'll finish you in way less than ten minutes! You hear me?"

" **Ha! I don't think so. You may be a trio, but you're not golden – like me and the girls.** " Nona said, amused. " **Once we're reunited, there will be no stopping us. Nisa Liat might even bow before us, begging for mercy! When that happens, then our eternal freedom is guaranteed. Awesome, don't you think?** "

"...No." Shintaro said. "If there's no way to make you human, then we really have to put a stop to this. You can't control your power. Freedom is a good thing, but you're planning to take it away from everybody else."

" **I don't care about anyone else, don't you get it? I just want me and my friends back together! The three of us, happy as ever. Or...there was four of us! Yeah, but...I don't think the fourth girl ever got changed like us..**."

"Fourth girl?" Asami said. "Huh? Epona's telling me something else...?"

"Already? What is it?" Shintaro asked, worried.

"I'm not quite sure...this ESP type stuff is a little hard to use." She held her head in pain, but then shook it off, focused. "It wasn't words. A vision. A girl in a green dress and pink, short hair, calling for three girls to follow her down the shore at Ginumi."

" **...Girl?** " Nona asked. " **Wait a minute. You're trying to read my thoughts, aren't you? That's...so...** _ **rude**_ **! Didn't your parents tell you mind-reading is socially irresponsible?!** "

"Actually, yes. I watched a lot of cartoons as a little girl. But...that image I saw was real. And I figured out who that girl was. Nona, I don't know your real name, and you've lost sight of who you truly are. But don't you remember being with three other girls? One of them became an Aeon Administrator..."

"No way? Nona was best friends with Asami?" Masato asked, confused.

" **What did you just say?!** "

Nona stopped her attack, and her flames subsided.

"Asami Hamasaki. Or 'Hama-sama'. Akari, is it definitely her you saw in your vision?" Shintaro asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's her! But I don't get it, she looked a bit younger. It must have been from a few years ago -"

" **NO!** " Nona suddenly screamed. " **Asami-chan! Where is she? You said she was an Aeon Administrator, didn't you? One of the elite at Bythos, the bastards that sealed us up? How could she betray us like that? Or did Nisa Liat force her to work for her?** "

Shintaro gulped. As far as he knew, Asami's three best friends killed themselves, having been driven to absolute despair by Ryosuke Kinoshita – or Astraeus. Now, however, one of those three friends was right in front of them, albeit in an inhuman form. What  _had_  happened to those friends after all?

"...We need to keep fighting!"

**|Chieki Academy – Calligraphy Classroom|15:26 pm|**

"Ugh!" Itaru yelled. He and his two comrades were looking worse for wear. Had they had more time to recover from their ferocious encounter with Nona, they might have been able to put up a better fight.

"Take this!" Kohaku yelled, sending Airmid's Mamagna at the entire trio of boys. Only Itaru managed to escape, while Futoshi and Atsuto felt the anger of the earth.

"Damn you!" Atsuto showed. Both his and Kohaku's weapons clashed loudly, and for a brief moment, she thought her weapon might just shatter from the impact. Then, he flipped backwards, and used a powerful Vajra Blast.

Natsumi winced. "Bastard...!"

"What, thought you'd thrash us? Think again!" Atsuto said, smiling up at Momonofu.

"You haven't won yet either! Brigid!" She yelled, and summoned the Persona. She threw her ring around in a circle, striking all three of the Jade Squad – and quite sharply.

"Dammit...this hurts..." Futoshi yelled. His whip was flying everywhere, in his vein attempt to hit the girls – with few successes. However, Itaru's claws were sharp and tinged with poison, giving Kei quite a hard time.

"Stop whining and burn them all to ash!" Itaru shouted.

"I'm trying! But one of them is flame-retardant!"

"Then get the other two, you dumbass!"

Futoshi sighed, but summoned Inferno – and thus, conjured powerful flames via the Agilao spell. The burning fire struck Kei, singeing her badly.

"Ha!" He laughed, leaping for joy – while dodging Kohaku's blade.

"Good job. We might even take them into custody..." Atsuto said.

"I'll finish this off..." Itaru said. "Rukh!"

"No. I will!" Kei shouted. "Morax!"

The legendary bird sent down fierce lightning, embodied by Mazionga, shocking the entire team of girls – quite severely. However, the warlock had equal power over the mind, casting a Mapsio – blasting the boys with psychic destruction. The room had been almost entirely obliterated, with most of the walls having collapsed from the fighting.

"Ugh..." Natsumi said, out of breath.

"Damn...I'm so dead..." Futoshi said.

"Same..." Atsuto groaned, clutching his stomach.

"Shake it off, wimps!" Itaru said, impatiently, despite his fatigue. "We'll win this, just you – huh?" His Gnosis was receiving a phone call, at a rather critical moment for him and his squad. "Dammit! Why do they have to call  _now_?"

"Kohaku, help me heal the three of us!" Kei requested. Kohaku nodded, and their team took the team to restore their health.

"...What?!" Itaru shouted. "Fuck! ...No, we'll be there. Pronto." He disconnected, and rejoined the fight. "We're getting out of here. Something crazy's happening in Ginumi and they need us to take care of it, fast."

"Huh?" Futoshi said. "But...what about our mission here? And that crazy Shadow up on the roof?"

"I don't  _care_! Just hurry up and get going!" Itaru said. "...You ladies should consider yourself lucky. Next time we meet, my Persona will be so strong, it'll be like an natural."

"Naturally inept, you mean?" Kohaku said, sticking her tongue out. Natsumi actually stared at her, impressed, and Kei couldn't help but laugh.

The boys scowled at them, but then suddenly smashed through the window, running as far as they could from the school grounds. Evidently, the beating they withstood didn't stop them from surviving a jump from the second floor.

"...That was tougher than I expected." Natsumi said, relieved. "They may be weak next to us, but not by that much."

"I wonder what's happening in Ginumi..." Kohaku said. "But first, though, we need to lend Shintaro and the others a helping hand."

"I'm not worried. My brother's with him." Natsumi said, confidently. "Although I better make sure he doesn't turn the school into a pile of rubble."

"Don't be silly! I'm sure Masato-kun couldn't do that by himself." Kohaku said, chuckling.

"Well, there was that one time he smashed that toy metal truck. Even scared our mother."

**|Hotel Aquarius – Lobby|15:30 pm|**

Rather than attack the Golden Laguna Hotel, it appeared the mysterious Shadow had attacked its rival accommodation instead. Once the five senior Persona users had gathered, they tracked the sinister energy to the other side of Ginumi. However, once they had arrived, they saw the aftermath of the being's rampage.

"Oh my god!" Novalie yelled. All over the lobby were various teenagers all looking worse for wear. They were clad in the Bythos uniform, but in some cases, the uniform had been ripped to shreds. She saw a young brunette girl, only about fifteen, clutching her torso in agony, while her raven haired comrade tried to heal her. "Hold on! Let me -"

"Who are you?!" The injured girl yelled. "This isn't fair! We can't fight you guys off. Not like this..."

"I'm not here to pick fights with you. Here, this will help..." Novalie said, summoning a healing item from her Gnosis. She used it upon the girl, which seemed to numb the pain, albeit slightly.

"Thank you..." The other girl said. "Wait a second...if you didn't come to fight, why are you here?"

"We sensed there was a powerful Shadow here, and we decided to investigate. Is it...still here?" Novalie asked, as gently as she could.

"I think so...it went upstairs. We couldn't stop it. We sure tried our best, but...we're just new recruits! Hama-Sama picked the two of us last month..." The injured girl said. "But our Personas just couldn't hurt that freak!"

"Michiko. What should we do?" Hiroyuki asked. "Bythos or not, these are just children. They're in need of medical attention."

"Wait a second. What's going on with the other kids?" Netuno asked. "The Kansei and Chieki gang, didn't we try reaching out to them?"

"I sent them all a message, but...no response." Reia said, anxiously. "Right now, we have to do something about that Shadow."

"Right. I'm going up there right now." Novalie said, focused. "An Anomaly Shadow is one that used to be human, right? If it would dare harm a child, then I refuse to let it run free."

"But miss, it's really strong! It uses a lot of powerful Ice spells..." A male Bythos soldier said. "My Gnosis was frozen solid. And then it broke into pieces..."

Novalie smirked. "Ice, huh? My Persona can handle a bit of cold. And so can I. I'm from Norway, after all."

Without a moment to lose, she began her ascent, flanked by her allies. Whatever demon lay in wait, she would not hesitate to destroy it.

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|15:35 pm|**

The air around the school had become tense, and the building actually seemed rather hazy due to the heat produced by the Anomaly that was making its stand. Shintaro wiped sweat from his brow. Nona was having quite a breakdown, it seemed, struggling to comprehend what Akari had just divined.

"Are you alright?" He tried to ask politely, but she gave him a fiery look of undying hatred. "I'll take that as a strong 'no'."

" **You're damn right that's a no! Why isn't Asami-chan here?! I want all my friends here! Then we can turn Asami into a Shadow too...yeah, that'll be perfect!** "

"What?!"

Shintaro gasped. Having just arrived to the rooftop were their other comrades, with Natsumi in the centre.

"Sis! Kei!" Masato cheered. "You run into any trouble?"

"Some dorks were in the Practice Building. They thought they could handle us girls, but...well, you know how strong a Yoshinaga is. Course, Teruyas and Kakusas are pretty damn tough too."

"...Right." Kei said, looking away, anxious.

"Shintaro, I'm sorry we're late. The Jade Squad got in our way. What on earth is happening here? Who or what is she?" Kohaku asked, pointing at the wraith like Shadow.

"Well, she calls herself Nona. The Life Spinner." Akari said, still somewhat disoriented.

" **No! That wasn't my name! What the hell was it...?! Where is Asami? I've got to find her, and quickly! I guess I'll just have to burn you all to ash if you won't tell me where she is...** "

"Wait! How do you know Asami?!" Natsumi demanded. "She's a student in this school, like me and my brother!"

" **Then she should be here! She'll have missed us so much...we can all be together. A band of four Shadows that no one can ever defeat!** "

"N-No! I won't let you do that! Asami is my friend...even if she's under Nisa Liat's evil spell. You want to find her? Then you'll have to deal with the six of us!"

" **Fine! I'm not afraid anymore! Asami-chan, wait for us, just a little longer!** "

Her body flared up again, and the Shadow charged forward, her weapon clashing violently with her equally fiery opponent.

"She'll never end up like you!"

**|Hotel Aquarius – Rooftop|15:35 pm|**

The rooftop area had been thoroughly destroyed. Priceless ornaments and intricate architecture were no match for the supernatural energies that had been conjured by both forces here.

"Asami. Are you...?"

Keiya was feeling rather fatigued, having shielded his young ally from the worst of their enemy's dreaded ice.

"Keiya! You're wounded..."

He shook his head, clutching his injured arm. "It's but a scratch. Sin, let the moon steer our course!"

Sin emerged and there was a tremendous flash of light. Both Asami and Morta gasped. Where once there had been one Keiya, there were now four.

"The Moonlit Reflection..." Asami said, in awe. "I was wondering when he'd put it to use."

One after another, each of the Keiyas summoned Sin – and Asami noticed one of them seemed clearer than the other. Each one blasted the Shadow with Kouga, resulting in a grand display of light.

"...Phew." Keiya said, kneeling down from fatigue. However, this left him wide open for a mighty Bufula, chilling him to the bone. He collapsed, unable to fight on, only able to look on in pain. With an instant, the copies of his image vanished.

"K-Keiya! No! Get back up! I need your help...!"

" **What a cheap trick. I could see which one was real right from the start. Making me waste my energy...** "

"You bitch... The faster you run of steam, the faster you die." Asami said, clenching her fists.

" **I thought we were friends? Why didn't you join us that night? Weren't you asked to come too?** " Morta asked, in despair. " **There's still time...we can do that Shadow Compression thing and make you -** "

"I don't want that! Lose my humanity? Are you kidding me? If you're really my friend, then you'd remember this. What was the first thing you ever said to me?" Asami asked. "Come on, you should remember! It was at school, at lunchtime."

" **I...I don't remember. Why...? Why can't I remember something so important? What's happening to me...?!** " Morta bemoaned.

"Quit the act. I'm not falling for it!" Asami said. "Burn in hell! Kaihime, go for it!"

The warrior Persona nodded, and brandished her Pyre Pike, savagely burning the Shadow. Asami was approaching her limit, however. Her supply of healing items had run low, and Keiya's ability to heal wasn't infinite either.

"That's called a Persona, isn't it? She's pretty strong looking. But if you want true freedom from the horrible Akartharto Kosmos, becoming a Shadow is the only way to go. It looks like defeating you is the only way to go. I'm sorry..."

Morta's deadly scissors opened wide, just as the clock hit 15:40. The area turned dark, and Asami screamed in horror. The Fate Render cut through her, and she collapsed, losing consciousness.

"Why did things turn out this way?"

Distracted by Asami's pained expression, she failed to notice several others had arrived on the scene. One of which was shocked, and gasped with horror, at what she had seen.

"...Saga!"

The Anomaly was caught off guard. Another Persona had appeared to besiege her, and this time, it rained down a Baleful Brook, soaking her with potent water. Which she was distracted, two others ran forward to the fallen Aeon Admins.

"What are you doing?!" Morta demanded.

"I could ask you the same question." Novalie asked, patiently. "Saga! Heal Keiya, now!"

Quickly, the Persona poured into Keiya's body a potent Healing Tonic. Able to stand, he regained his footing, and ran to Asami's side.

"Asami..." He said, distraught.

"You should escape, Tsukino. For once, we're feeling merciful."

The others gasped. Somehow, without anyone noticing, Shigeru Komatsu himself had arrived, cracking his knuckles. Keiya, deciding to acknowledge the Education Minister's advice, took Asami in his arms, and ran as far away as he could.

"No!" Morta yelled. She tried to follow, but Reia struck her from behind. "Argh!"

"Yeah. You're not going anywhere. Shadows are preferable when they're not breathing, after all."

"Shigeru man, what are you doing here?" Netuno asked. "You never told us you were going to waltz up here and save the day!"

"To tell the truth, heroics wasn't exactly on my agenda today. I merely wanted to check in with you all, but it looks like you found another accommodation." Shigeru said, smiling valiantly. "I'm deeply sorry for my absence. It's good to see you all again. Especially you, Michiko."

"I'm a teacher. It's my nature to take charge when needed." Mrs Suzuki said, smiling.

"Who the hell are you freaks? And what the hell are you doing with Asami-chan?!" Morta demanded. She tried to hurl a Bufula at Netuno, but he quickly jumped away, and bashed her hard with his guitar. Not content with this, he summoned Tam Kung, and a Zionga shocked the Shadow hard.

"Eunomia!" Reia yelled. The lawful goddess pointed to the sky with her needle, and immediately, a Crazed Comet fell from the heavens, hitting the Shadow with the might of outer space.

Shigeru, silently focused on his opponent, summoned Dis Pater. Another Phantom Nexus opened, blasting the Shadow with wholly cursed energy. This served to both harm and vex Morta, and she shot straight at her attacker, vying for his blood.

"Bastards! Why are you interfering with me? I should have taken over this hotel...there, me and my friends could have taken it over. Nona and Decima will be coming here soon. If you won't bring Asami-chan back, then I'll kill you all right here, right now!"

"What on earth is this?" Hiroyuki asked, dumbstruck. "She's the same age as my daughter...they turned a child into a Shadow?" He hesitated to pull the trigger, but finally managed to find his nerve, and shot her from behind, causing her to stumble – leaving her open to a vicious uppercut. "Masamune!"

The master swordsman, in Persona form, cast down the sharp Fudo, causing Morta to scream in pain. Not only did she have piercing knives slicing into her, but she also had to cope with Nidaba's Page of History.

"...I'm sorry." Michiko said, tearfully. "I never wanted it to come to this."

"It's not your fault, Michiko. Thanks to Bythos we're forced to fight this child..." Reia said, disgusted. "We ought to capture her for further research. Maybe, just maybe, there's a way to reverse this process."

"Morta. That's your name, isn't it? It's what the Gnosis is telling me you're called. Who are you? What happened to you?" Novalie asked, hand over her heart. "We don't have to keep fighting like this. You're more than a mindless, savage Shadow. You're still human, deep down. Right?"

"Stop it! I don't have to explain myself to you! I'm sick of this already...I thought becoming a Shadow would be an end to all my suffering. All I remember from when I was human was feeling worthless. It was just me and the girls, against everybody else. Don't try to act like you care about me! You just want to turn me into some sick lab experiment. Well, that isn't gonna happen!"

"Novalie, I'm doubtful reasoning will work." Shigeru said. "You must be prepared to fight."

"...I know."

Saga appeared, and set forth an Aques. The waves struck, and the fight continued, the sounds echoing over all of Ginumi. At the same time, equally tumultuous battles were engoing in both Mizuho and Hiyashi...

**|Technodome|15:40 pm|**

The two Chieki students watched in horror, as two familiar adults engaged in fierce combat with what seemed like a ghost. No matter how often he blinked, the vision he was was still the same. It didn't seem like a dream, but what he was seeing seemed far too unreal to be anything else.

" **You loser Aeons! Right now, my friends are wondering where I am. If you won't let me see them, then you're all going to die!** "

Evelina gasped – before the Wild Lightning could hit her, she was shoved aside by Rinaka.

"Whoa!" Toshiaki yelled. "Um, are you okay...?"

"It's...nothing." Rinaka said. She hurriedly shot at the Shadow, but her hail of bullets didn't seem to be having much of an affect. "Ugh! This thing's got a bullet proof vest...guns won't do a thing!"

"That's not a vest, that's a stupid looking dress." Toshiaki said.

"Do you want me to put your arm in a sling?"

"Um...no. Sorry." Toshiaki said.

" **You guys are really,** _ **really**_ **annoying me now. Why is it so hard to electrocute you all to death? Just freaking die already!** "

By now, there was no piece of equipment in this store that hadn't been overloaded with electricity and destroyed. Evelina grabbed Toshiaki's hand, and led him further away from the thunderous Decima.

"What's going on?" He asked. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know! When I woke up, I was in this mall, but no one was around. This zombie tried to kill me, but then I discovered I had a 'Persona'. The same sort of thing Rinaka and Koyanagi-sensei seem to have..."

"Is this even real?" Toshiaki asked.

"I...really think it is." Evelina said, dismayed. "How did you get here?"

"I woke up here. And then these things called Shadows started showing up. That 'Decima' or whatever just killed one right in front of me, and then she started trying to bump me off. Then...I got saved by my most hated teacher in the world..."

"...Sorry." Evelina said. "Don't worry. We'll get through this. My Persona is still quite weak, but I can at least protect you..."

During this conversation, Rinaka was using all her equipment to contend with the powerful Shadow. She had a grappling hook, that could help her swing from one part of the room to the other swiftly – this saved her from a nasty electrocution via Zionga.

"This is getting tiresome." She said, annoyed. "Breksta! Night Stalker!"

The Persona winked, and then proceeded to fire a jet black missile – made out of cursed darkness itself. Decima actually seemed frightened, and tried to weave out of its way. Alas, it made its mark, and exploded, leaving a massive hole between the store area and the employee room.

"Incredible..."

"Shiro, you've seen me fire that rocket a few times before. It can't be that fascinating to see again, can it?" Rinaka asked.

"Actually, I was admiring their break room's furnishings." Shiro said, adjusting his glasses.

"...You need better hobbies."

Struggling to get up, Decima appeared to be in absolute agony. She feebly tried to summon her electric frenzy, but could only produce a small amount of sparks. Alas, even Shadows had their limits.

"Shall we finish this?" The teacher smiled viciously, enough to make his students shiver. "Perhaps at once. Then we can both take the credit for this victory."

Rinaka nodded. "Breksta! Show them your true potential!"

"Mergen, on my command!"

Breksta was shrouded in an ominous purple aurora, that seemed almost like flames. This whirlwind of unearthly light grew more turbulent, as Mergen channelled his own energy.

" **Nightmare's Tor**!"

The swordsman pierced the ground with his blade, and with it, summoned a gigantic rockfall, each boulder absorbing the dark energies generated by the leather-clad woman. Decima's screams were agonisingly loud, and eventually, collapsed, her body struggling to hold itself together.

"...That concludes our lesson." Shiro said, dismissing his Persona. "Our guest was quite ferocious indeed. An unexpected factor. But Nisa Liat did prepare us for this potentiality."

"Yes. Until we collect the whole set, we're unable to truly kill her." Rinaka said.

"Precisely. Hence we were given the Seal Evil app. Tamura, would you like to do the honours?"

"Certainly." Rinaka said. Evelina watched warily, and moved further away. Decima's form was getting hazier by the second.

" **I'm...so sorry...everyone...** "

The screen of Rinaka's Gnosis turned a blood red. A red seal of glowing energy appeared beneath the Anomaly, and she was enveloped by 'chains', seemingly made out of magic. There was a giant flash, and she was suddenly vanished – replaced, however, by a floating card. The image was of Decima, with the red seal overlaying her image.

"Decima, the Life Measurer, is now in our custody once again." Rinaka said. The card vanished, and Rinaka put her phone back in her pocket. "Now, shall we get out of this place? We have a lot to discuss, the four of us."

"Indeed. After all, these two are no doubt wondering how their Mathematics teacher possesses such powers." Shiro said. They left the room, with Toshiaki looking behind him at the wreckage.

_How long has Koyanagi-sensei had this kind of ability? Is he even human? And why's he friends with Tamura-san? Someone please just wake me up..._

"Where are we going?" Evelina asked, as they finally left the Keyaki Hills. The streets of Hiyashi were bizarrely empty, but she felt a shiver down her spine. More Shadows like the Ghoul were likely lurking around the corner, ready to strike.

"This world is essentially our playground..." Shiro said, gesturing towards the vast cityscape in front of them. The Gnosis exists to aid those with the Persona ability, in both summoning it in battle, and transportation between the regular 'Akartharto Kosmos' and this world – the 'Theio Kosmos'."

"On the surface, both worlds seem to be exactly the same. But the Theio Kosmos doesn't follow the laws of reality as you know them. It is a world based on human thoughts and emotion. Shadows are born from suppressed dark thoughts, given form via the immense energy. Personas are much the same, only those same thoughts are under control." Rinaka said. "A Persona is in essence another facet of your own self, given power in this world."

"And with our Persona abilities, the Aeon Admins and the Pleroma Princess can influence the fate of all that live in both worlds." Shiro said. "You'll understand soon enough. First, though, we'd like to invite you to our headquarters."

"It's not just going to be a gigantic version of the Teacher's Lounge, is it?" Toshiaki asked.

Shiro laughed, surprising the two children. Rinaka just frowned, and pointed curtly at her watch. "Oh, of course. I think what you're about to see will no doubt excite you. One moment, and I'll take us there..."

The Teacher's Gnosis was activated, and in a second, they were transported away, somewhere far away from Hiyashi – and anywhere else they had ever been, the two youngsters would find out.

**|Chieki Academy – Rooftop|15:55 pm|**

Even with six opponents, Nona was fiercely fighting for her future. However, she suddenly seemed to sense something, and her eyes bulged with horror, her veins glowing eerily white.

" **D-Decima!** " She suddenly yelled. " **They've...they've taken Decima!** "

"What the hell?" Natsumi asked. Up until this point, both the human and Shadow pyromaniacs were exchanging furious words, not to mention savage strikes. Yet now Nona was crying her eyes out.

"You can sense where your friends are?" Shintaro asked. "Who do you mean by 'they'?"

" **I don't care who they are! I...I want my friends back! And you're not going to stop me! Watch this!** "

She soared into the sky, and held aloft her arms. Eerie black and red flames began to wreath her entire body, and the sky seemed to darken to herald her Fateful Flare. With burning passion, she dove back onto the roof, creating a massive crack in the concrete.

"Great, and we were doing so well against here already." Masato said. Immediately, the fiery Shadow started to attack with her spindle, faster than he could handle. "Oww! You're gonna pay for that!

Barely getting out of harm's way, he tried throwing down a Zionga. Alas, the Shadow's agility was even higher, and she zipped away from the lightning. Her fiery Agilao hit Kohaku with intense force, and before Shintaro could do anything, she aimed a heavy kick in his stomach.

"Argh!" Shintaro yelled. "Kei! Can't you cool her off?" He desperately cast Garula, but while the winds hit her, it didn't appear to pacify the Untamed Flames whatsoever. The entire rooftop seemed like it would melt from the heat, and even Natsumi was sweating. "Kei!"

"S-Stay calm, Shintaro. I can handle this." Kei said, preparing to change her Persona. Right as she did so, Nona decided to hit her head on, but Kei's katana blocked her assault outright. In fact, with the cold air of Wendigo, she created an ice wall around herself, shielding herself from the fire.

"Hmm. Maybe I should take up fencing lessons. Maybe that'd give me more of an edge."

"Um, perhaps we should plan your hobbies  _after_  we're sure we'll get out of this alive." Kohaku said, still anxious.

" **Get that stupid hulking beast out of my way!** " Nona shrieked, incensed by the sight of the snowy being Kei had summoned. Even Bufula didn't slow her down, to Kei's shock. No one seemed able to land a hit on her, and thus, she was able to perform her Destiny Spinner, hitting Kei at full power and smashing the icy barrier.

"Damn!" Natsumi yelled. She tried using Brigid's metal ring, but Steel Wheel didn't seem to even scratch the Shadow. "...Nothing's working!"

"Her fury is so strong, it's fuelling her entire being." Akari said, horrified. She quickly healed Kei with Diarama, but immediately had to jump out of the way of Nona's brutal onslaught. "That fire effect she's under...it's making her resistant to almost everything!"

"Everything?!" Masato asked. "So what do we do? We've been at this forever!"

"I said almost everything!" Akari screamed, rolling away from the burning hot flames of Agilao. "This effect seems to have made her waterproof, and the cold doesn't bother her anymore. But the power of light can still pierce her soul."

"If only -"

Shintaro's thought was cut short, however, with the appearance of a Persona he hadn't seen for a while. His two swords were gleaming as ever, and he smiled in the face of the grim opponent.

"I was here?"

The others gasped. There, indeed, was Noburo Komatsu, proudly wielding his swords and his Gnosis. Aengus had been summoned, ready to roll.

" **Another one of you creeps?! How many of you are there? That's it, you're going to die too! You should have just stayed home, but it's too late now!** "

"I didn't come all the way here just to run away screaming." Noburo said, smug. "There's only so much crying can accomplish. I don't know what your deal is, but your insanity ends here! Beannaithe Lann!"

His swords become pure light, and with great valediction, they clashed through the Life Spinner's body, piercing even the flames cloaking her body. She screamed in pain, and the fire around her seemed to be diminishing.

"Now, everyone! Hit her with everything you've got!" Noburo yelled.

Without any mercy, he and his six comrades rushed at the Shadow, attacking as violently as possible. Shintaro was surprised at just how swiftly he was able to course his blade, but his weapon, alongside his friends', had finally become deadly to the Shadow.

" **NO! I...I can't do this anymore...** "

Nona suddenly collapsed, her fiery energy dissipating. Finally, the area started to cool down, and the sky returned to normal. The Shadow's body was becoming more and more clear, on the verge of vanishing.

"Nona, whoever you were, I'm sorry." Natsumi said. "Why did we have to fight her like this?"

"Nisa Liat was the one that did this to her. Changing her from an innocent girl into a demonic banshee."

"...Is it just me, or is she taking a long time to disappear?" Kohaku noticed. Looking at her body closely, Shintaro couldn't help but agree. Nona was not vanishing as quickly as other Shadows when they were vanquished.

"Something's not right..." Akari said, distressed. "Hold on. I'll try sensing with Epona." After a few moments channeling her Persona, she gasped. "Holy shit..."

"What? Does she need to go to the bathroom first?" Masato asked.

"The heck – no, you idiot!" Akari snapped. "Nona...she's part of a trio. She can only be killed at the exact same time as the other two. And they have to be together."

"Then...what should we do? Hope the other two turn up?" Noburo asked.

"She said one of them had been captured. By who, we don't know." Natsumi said, anxious. "We can't just leave her here. We have to find a way to defeat all three of them in one shot."

Kei looked at her Gnosis, and gasped. "How convenient. My phone has a 'Seal Evil' application now."

"What? I don't have that..." Shintaro said, bewildered. "Is there an App Store on this thing?"

"Just relax. Let me try this new application. It may just be what we need."

The screen of Kei Gnosis turned a blood red. A red seal of glowing energy appeared beneath the Anomaly, and she was enveloped by 'chains', seemingly made out of magic. There was a giant flash, and she was suddenly vanished – replaced, however, by a floating card. The image was of Morta, with the red seal overlaying her image.

"It worked. But what do we do now? Capture the other two and then release them, only to kill them all then and there?" Kohaku asked. "That seems so cruel. I know they're Shadows now, but still..."

"We tried talking to her already, and look where it got us." Shintaro said. "At least, sealed up like this, Nona can't burn anything – for now. Let's go back to the base, and see if we can find anyone there."

"Yeah. We at least have one piece of good news we can give everybody." Kohaku said, her face beaming. "...Welcome back, Noburo. We really missed you."

Noburo wiped away a tear from his eye, standing tall and proud. "It's been a terrible time. But it finally hit me today. While I'm at homing crying, thinking about Teruko, you all are still fighting. It's good to be with you all again. And I'm not turning back now."

"Glad to hear it." Shintaro said, shaking his young friend's hand. "What's happening with Toki and Kaii?"

Noburo smiled. "Toki's staying in Bythos. But just for appearances. In fact, he's a double agent now. He'll try to help us out on the inside. He's a good actor – he'll pull it off for sure."

"We're really going to work with Toki in secret...?" Kohaku asked, awkwardly.

"I know it's difficult for you all to trust him. But I really think it'll work. I'm finally able to have a proper conversation with him, my birth father. Of course, I doubt my other dad will be so happy. So for now, let's keep it a secret from him."

Akari nodded. "Relax. I'm good at keeping secrets. Like when Suzu and that guy in the Go club...did something freaky that I'm definitely not going to tell you about. Nope. No matter how many times you beg to hear the story."

In high spirits, the team finally left the Academy, and it became free from the fiery fury. Now, in both worlds, it would remain a safe haven. However, two of its students weren't quite in good hands.

**|Hotel Aquarius – Rooftop|16:00 pm|**

"Hiroyuki, now!"

Novalie crossed blades with Morta, while Hiroyuki fired a fierce shot at the Shadow's head.

"I think I can finally heat things up. So to speak." The soldier said, smirking. "Come forth, Masamune! Equip the Bakuenken!"

The master of the blade revealed a new creation, that looked similar to a Flamberge, except the blade was cloaked in red hot flames. Proud of his work, he hurled the sword at Morta, impaling her in the heart, and the blade dispersed into flames.

"You would have made a great samurai, I bet." Netuno said, impressed.

"Hardly. I can't stand their hairstyles." Hiroyuki shuddered at the thought.

"Is yours that much better?" Reia asked, smirking.

"Now that was just cold." Netuno said, as he played his guitar. The resulting sounds worked well as a long-range attack, and gave him the time to summon Tam Kung. "Now! Dynamo Strings!"

Electrical energy surged straight into Morta, who shrieked in pain. Her pain heightened, however, thanks to Shigeru's brutal strength.

" **You're all fucking dead!** " She yelled.

"Really? You're accusing me of necrophilia? Shame on you!" Reia taunted, stoking the Shadow's anger. "You need some punishment after that. Eunomia!"

The goddess poked forward with her needle, creating two bright burning flames. These Twin Flares spun around Morta in an elegant spiral, dizzying her somewhat, and then hit her in a pincer attack – sending her to her knees in pain.

"I trained to teach the youth of this city. Not murder them. But you leave me no choice. Nidaba, come! Lurid Dream!"

The Persona appeared, but suddenly became a silhouette – coloured with a seemingly random assortment of pinks, yellows, purples and blues. She 'danced', contorting her body in impossible positions, and the aura around her became a garish pink. Finally, this image of Nidaba rushed at the icy Shadow, hitting her full force with this psychic nightmare.

" **Ow! What the hell was that?!** " Morta demanded.

"Put in layman's terms, a manipulation of psychokinetic energies deployed in a manner to cause physical and/or psychological damage." Michiko explained. "If you weren't presently trying to murder me and my friends, I'd be willing to teach you more."

" **I don't want any education from** _ **you**_ **, bitch!** "

"That's a shame. It'd be more beneficial for you than these."

She darted in forward, swinging her laser blades at a blindingly fast rate. Novalie's sword was just as nimble, and Reia's scythe wasn't far behind. From afar, Netuno's guitar and Hiroyuki's rifle were firing rapidly, diminishing the Shadow's energy.

"It's time to finish this..." Shigeru said, cracking his knuckles. "You Anomaly Shadows are trapped in an existence that has no hope. It's time I banished you forever...so your soul can rest. Dis Pater, it's time to finally push ourselves to the limit."

A circle of black and blue smoke appeared around Morta. Panicking, she looked around, trying to find out what was happening, but it all happened so quickly. A giant ebony tomb, the  **Cruel Crypt** , appeared from the ground, and the lid suddenly went flying into the sky, disappearing with a burst of smoke that turned into a skull.

" **Huh?!** " She said. " **What is that thing?! What are you trying to pull?!** "

The Skull started to laugh – the sound itself distorting the environment, and hurting Morta's ears. She covered them with her hands, but to no effect. As she fell to her knees, the tomb sucked her in, and the skull from the sky flew back down – creating a burst of dark smoke and blue energy in the shape of that same skull.

" **...I'm sorry, girls...it's all over now.** "

The Shadow lay face down on the floor, completely still. The sheer energy she had been subjugated to seemed to be causing her to fade...but she remained.

"What?" Novalie asked. "She's...still alive? Even after all that?"

"Shadows don't leave corpses. They're not made up of any earthly materials, after all. They disappear, their energies dissipating. So this definitely isn't normal..." Michiko said, perplexed. "What could be keeping her alive, even in this wounded state?"

"She's part of a trio, isn't she? Two other Anomaly Shadows broke out today. And we got stuck dealing with one of them." Reia said, frustrated. "...If we leave her like this, she'll recover and cause even more havoc. We need to do something."

Novalie looked at her Gnosis, out of curiosity. Perhaps one of its apps had the answer. Sure enough, it had a brand new app installed to it – the same exact one two others today would use.

"Everyone...please look at this."

The other five came to look at her smartphone and gazed in amazement.

"Novalie-chan, what's the deal with this? I never created anything like this before..." Reia said, disturbed.

"I didn't download it myself, I swear!" The blonde student said, flustered. "It says it can 'seal away the dark', but..."

"But it's still the afternoon. It won't be dark for a few more hours. Right?" Netuno asked.

"Keep it up, Netuno, and you won't see the light again." Reia said.

"Novalie, please try to use this app." Hiroyuki said. "It's better than leaving Morta to recover. One hysterical Shadow is bad enough, we don't want her banding together with two more."

With some hesitation, Novalie pressed the strange symbol – a glowing red seal – that appeared on her screen. The screen then turned a blood red. A red seal of glowing energy appeared beneath the Anomaly, and she was enveloped by 'chains', seemingly made out of magic. There was a giant flash, and she was suddenly vanished – replaced, however, by a floating card. The image was of Morta, with the red seal overlaying her image.

"...What happened? Was she transported elsewhere?" Reia asked.

"I don't know, the app won't let me." Novalie said, uneasy. She tapped the screen, but to no affect. "It doesn't seem like it'll let me release her, either."

"Then it seems like she's in our captivity, and we've thrown away the key." Shigeru said. "...Good work, Novalie. And the rest of you. We should regroup and plan our next move."

"Right. The other two Anomalies that escaped need to be dealt with. Novalie's new app might be able to capture them as well. Maybe, just maybe, we can kill them all for good if they're in the same spot." Reia said, in deep thought.

"If only we had the same power, right?" Michiko asked. "Of course, I'd rather have both my powers and my humanity. Becoming a Shadow would be the absolute worst thing any one could do."

"To you, maybe. But for this girl and her friends, it was her only way out." Hiroyuki said, morose. "...I never want my daughter to feel that way."

"...Let's go." Shigeru said. The group left, but Novalie lingered the longest, looking in despair at the chaos caused by their conflict with Morta.

"How long...do I need to keep you trapped in here? Is there no way we can help you and your friends?" Novalie asked, her voice heavy with regret. "You're still human, deep down. I know you are."

The area had became quiet, and Novalie's phone did not respond. Sighing, she left her new app, and turned around.

"I want to find a way forward for us without fighting. My dream is still to ensure world peace, however elusive it may be. Rest assured, Bythos, I'll make it happen – even if I have to cut every single one of you down. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can co-exist – someone just has to make the first move."

With that, Novalie left, and Hotel Aquarius slowly reformed back into the luxury accommodation for the elite. The cold air that Morta generated dispersed, and with that, the third of the Parcae had been dealt with. However, the door to the rooftop flung open, revealing three boys in green.

"Great. I knew we should have updated our Aeon Pathway list."

Itaru, sighing, clenched his fists. Walking all this way had been murder on his feet, and it had accomplished little.

"Hey, we might have two new Aeon Admins today...that's good, right?" Futoshi said.

"Yeah. C'mon, let's hurry up and clock out so we can go play video games at my place." Atsuto said.

"Fine..." Itaru said. "We'll beat the Goldenrod girls soon. I promise."

They left, putting aside their ambitions for another day.

**|Golden Laguna – Suite|16:15 pm|**

Moments after the older group arrived, their seven newer allies had appeared all at once. Both teams stared at each other in confusion for a moment, until finally, one of them spoke.

"Whoa, everybody's here!" Akari said, amazed at the sight of Shigeru alongside his five trusted associates. He stood up, and moved towards his son.

"Noburo..."

"Dad..."

After a moment's hesitation, they hugged each other tightly, Shigeru even wiping away a small tear.

"It's good to be back, dad."

"I...I was so worried about you. We'll find a way to move on from this, together. I promise." Shigeru said.

"I know. You've never let me down." Noburo said, smiling. "I found everybody else at Chieki Academy. We had a pretty nasty run in with an Anomaly Shadow. Nona, the Life Spinner."

"What? So who captured her?" Netuno asked.

"Huh? Um...Kei did." Masato said. "Wait, what do you know about Nona?"

"Well, we've had an encounter with her rather cold-hearted friend. Morta." Reia said. "It turned out that killing her alone was impossible. She needs to be with the other two before we can finish her off for good. Problem is, we don't know what's happened to the third member of the trio."

"She escaped from some kind of seal in Ginumi, and we were prepared for her trying to break into this hotel. However, she chose to target Hotel Aquarius...where Keiya and Asami were training new recruits for Bythos." Hiroyuki said. "Those youngsters could have gotten themselves killed."

"What about Asami-chan?!" Natsumi asked, shocked. "She...she's okay, right?"

"I'm not sure. We healed Keiya, and he ran away with her. We've no idea where they are now." Michiko said. "Morta was rather unhinged. Was Nona the same?"

"Pretty much." Masato said, shuddering. "All she wanted to do was burn our school down to the ground. That, and find her friends, and rule over this world with them."

"Morta most likely had the same goals. Well, without the arson part." Hiroyuki said. "We'll need to monitor the Hiyashi to find the third one. Reia?"

"On it." She immediately began working with her Gnosis, and using her program on the laptop, but frowned. "Hmm. Nothing's coming up anymore. There was a big warehouse in the north side of the district that exploded this afternoon, that much I can see, but there's no trace of the Anomaly any more."

"Bythos must have gotten to it while we were trying to deal with the other two. Bastards!" Noburo shouted. "Now what do we do?"

"We may have to be more direct when it comes to fighting Bythos." Shigeru said, thinking deeply. "If they used a similar app to ours, then their Anomaly is on one of their smartphones. Thus, we need to either seize the handheld itself, or hack into it and somehow transfer the data to one of our devices."

"I'll need to get started on that..." Reia said. "And I thought coming up with an autumn wardrobe was hard work."

Netuno laughed, and got up from his chair. "Chill out, Reia, we'll find that other Anomaly in no time. Maybe we can get to the bottom of why Bythos are doing this as well."

"Bythos...?" Natsumi said. "If Bythos are the ones who made them, why was one of them fighting Asami-chan?"

Hiroyuki shook his head, uncertain. "Who knows. We've got a lot to worry about now, at any rate. Public support for the Mayor is declining – if it gets stronger, keeping order in this city might just become impossible. There's a lot of people thinking Bythos aren't all that bad, swallowing their rhetoric."

"Let's head home for now, then. These apps will keep Nona and Morta sealed properly, won't they?" Shintaro asked.

"Well, there's no sign of them trying to escape. I'll keep a close watch on my Gnosis, however." Kei said, holding it tight.

"So will we. Until then, take care." Michiko said.

"I'll be home later, dad, is that okay?" Noburo asked.

Shigeru nodded, and thus, the young ones left. The sight of his son coming here had given him new hope. Defeating the Anomalies and all of Bythos might just be possible – at least, that was his new ambition.

**|Akartharto Kosmos – Bella Donna, Food Court|16:30 pm|**

The group had opted to get some cold refreshments here today, and while Shintaro drank a matcha bubble tea, he filled Noburo in on some of the events that had taken place recently. The fight with Rinaka had been pretty intense, and the young actor listened carefully.

"Wow, sounds like you had a hard time with just her." Noburo said. "You think we need to be worried about this Rinaka lady?"

"I don't think we can take any of the Aeon Admins lightly. Then again, Asami and Keiya don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to fights." Akari said, amused.

Noburo laughed, which surprised Shintaro greatly – but it was good to see him happy. It felt like an age had passed since they had all been together.

"Wait a minute. Aren't we forgetting something?" Kohaku asked, confused.

"I don't think so..." Akari said. "I have my purse and everything, and I didn't see anyone drop any of their stuff, so -"

"No, that's not it. We came here earlier today to discuss something to do with Chieki, didn't we?" Kohaku said.

"You're right! Wasn't it about your friends, you two?" Shintaro asked, looking at the twins.

"Oh god! Evelina and Toshiaki-senpai!" Natsumi said, shocked. "We completely forgot about them..."

"Well, there's not been any news about them that I can see." Kei said, checking her Gnosis alerts. "You'll be seeing them soon enough, won't you? You and Masato-kun can try to talk to them."

"Yeah, but...I don't want to just blab what we're really doing after school." Masato said, scared. He looked at the ground, cursing himself for being so forgetful.

"Try not to worry." Shintaro said. "If they're anything like you've said, they can handle it. Problem is, the rest of us won't be there to help out if things go wrong."

"So it really is all on us, right?" Natsumi was anxious, her shoulders tense. "Alright. We'll try and come up with something, and let you know soon."

"Sounds good." Noburo said. Eventually, the group went home one by one, until it was just Kei and Noburo.

"...Thank you for coming tonight. We might not have survived if you hadn't shown up." Kei said, smiling gratefully.

"Ha! You're the Wild Card, aren't you? You're capable of switching Personas at the drop of a hat." Noburo said, hand on his head, embarrassed.

"That may be, but I can't exactly be called omnipotent..." Kei said, flustered. "Everything must be so trying right now. Toki and Kaii, fighting Shadows, and..."

"Teruko-chan...she would have been great with a real Persona." Noburo said, wistfully. "But that's all in the past. I still need to prepare for the funeral, too. But I can prepare for any role, acting or otherwise."

"To me, that's more impressive than my Wild Card power..." Kei said, sadly. She shook her head, and managed to smile once more. "There's a movie that I picked up on DVD a while back, about robots in a carnival. Would you mind watching it with me sometime?"

"That sounds great!" Noburo said, excited. "I haven't...found it in me to watch anything since that night. Now, I think I can. It's going to be a long time until I can stop crying, though..."

"I understand. I've had some tearful nights myself." Kei said, solemnly. "...Especially after that train crash."

"Huh?" Noburo asked, surprised. He hadn't heard her mention any train crash before. Nor had she really discussed her family, either.

"...It's a long story. Some other time." Kei said, trying to hide her sorrow with a forced laugh. "I've got to get back to the dorm now. I'll see you at school, Noburo-kun!"

She hastily left to catch her bus, leaving him behind. He had seen a glimpse of her own pain, but she had shut the door to her heart almost as soon as she had opened it. What would it take for her to fully unlock that door, he wondered? He left the mall, pondering on a million things at once.

**|Bythos Citadel – Watchtower|16:40 pm|**

The way to their destination was long, going through many corridors and up a seemingly endless staircase. Eventually, they reached the central room of the Wathtower. It was unclear where in Shinshuto City this peculiar area was. However, it seemed a strange mixture of medieval architecture with modern comforts, with elaborate tapestries hanging from the walls and flaming torches lined perfectly along the walls. Yet there seemed to be high tech computer screens as well, each displaying vast amounts of data relating to things neither Toshiaki nor Evelina fully understood.

"Wow. The display is so clear..." She said, amazed regardless. "What type of display is this?"

"One that was formed entirely within the Theio Kosmos." Rinaka said. "That's the world we're in, just so you're aware. Except this building has no equivalent in the normal world you know, or rather, the Akartharto Kosmos. Nisa Liat used her own power to slowly build this place that only we can access."

"What, is it floating in the sky or something?" Toshiaki asked.

Shiro smirked, and pointed to one of the screens with the Gnosis, as if it were a remote. The display changed, revealing a blue sky with clouds – and text at the top of the screen identifying this as the Akartharto Kosmos. With another tap of the Gnosis, the view changed.

Evelina and Toshiaki gasped. The beautiful sky was replaced with a far more foreboding sight – a grand, majestic castle of black and blood-red. It had no front gates or drawbridge, rather a tremendous red glowing emblem. The building was easily larger than any on the city's surface, perhaps even Totsuka's entire Divine Nine area.

Both the top and bottom of the castle had high towers and countless stained glass windows, as if one were looking at its reflection upon water. Black chains seemed to be dangling from the mid-section of the castle, without seeming to attach to anything. One tower had a red arrow pointing to it, denoting it as the Watchtower.

"...Does that answer your question?" Shiro asked.

"Holy shit! You guys have this for a secret base? Where the hell are we?" Toshiaki demanded.

"Far above the city. Our enemies have no chance of ever making it here on land, and even more aircraft would have difficulty reaching this altitude. Of course, Nisa Liat has made it possible for us to survive here. She's also made travelling here very difficult."

"Rinaka is right. We're completely unable to transmit the co-ordinates to anyone. Only she can decide who has the right to come here or not. And she will only allow us to warp here on certain occasions. It means we can't come and go here as we please – it has to be at her bidding, for the sake of a mission."

"But we're getting off topic." Rinaka said. "Evelina...we're fighting against the evils of this city. For quite some time now, evil has been infecting Shinshuto. Even the police force."

She changed the screen to an image of two young women in police officer uniforms. Rinaka was there, with shorter hair and a more innocent smile. Equally happy was the older and taller woman next to her, a brunette.

"That woman there is Yoshie Araki." Rinaka said. "When I was young, I was in an orphanage, and had nowhere else to go. One day, I saw a man try to steal an old woman's money – so I ran as fast as I could, and managed to stop him long enough for the police to get there. Yoshie recommended I join the police once I was eligible to join...and so I did. I was one of the best women there, although she probably said the same thing to everybody else – she was a great senpai."

"...What happened to her?" Evelina asked, uneasily.

"She was investigating a cyber-bulling case. A really, really nasty one. Ryosuke Kinoshita, a nasty piece of work. He really had it in for a group of girls. Why, I don't know – he was a sociopath. Now, had this been any other kid, she would have been able to put him in juvenile hall. Problem was, Kinoshita had friends in high places. Not only was his father one of the top policemen in the city, he had a lawyer for an uncle."

"So, this Ryosuke bastard got away with it?!" Toshiaki asked, outraged.

"You know it. Mayor Ashikaga knew, but she didn't do a thing. The police of this city were out-performing a lot of major cities in Japan, and she didn't want a scandal like this to erupt and destroy their reputation. So, not only did Kinoshita get away with driving three girls to suicide, my only friend on the force was suspended...and fired."

"What the – how did they make that happen?" Evelina asked.

"They claimed she had abused her powers as a police officer and falsified evidence against that slime of a daddy's boy." As she said this, Rinaka clenched her fists. "...Yoshie didn't cope. She turned to drink, and later drugs... Her family turned their backs on her, no one else on the police force was doing anything to help her but me."

"...Rinaka. Are you sure you can tell them this story?" Shiro asked.

"I've gotten this far. I won't stop now." Rinaka said, adamantly. She was holding back tears as much as she could, but her anger was not so easily disguised. "Because of that kid, and his fat waste of space father – the most incompetent policeman on the force – my friend had to be cremated."

"No...!" Evelina said, disgusted. "All because..."

"Ryosuke Kinoshita has already been disposed of. Officially, he's missing, but we know better. The girls who killed themselves...they were friends with a local celebrity you know as Hama-Sama."

"Asami Hamasaki herself is an Aeon Admin. Our youngest, but one of our most passionate. She seeks to fight back against the corruption that caused the deaths of both her friends and my senpai. But we can't do it alone. We need your help, Evelina."

"Mine...?" Evelina asked.

"From the minute I met you, I could tell you had the potential to be a true Persona user." Rinaka looked at the Gnosis in Evelina's pocket, and smiled. "It...wasn't easy. But I was able to help you awaken to Aoife."

Toshiaki gasped. "Then the reason we have the Gnosis...you put them in the classroom?"

"That's right. With a little help from Hamasaki, of course." Shiro said, smug. "We certainly don't see eye to eye. But you have a reason for being here too, Yukimora. I seek to reverse an event that...ruined my life. And your father's."

"...Huh?" Toshiaki asked. "Wait. Those old images I saw at TechnoDome. Those were real...?"

"Yes. Tetsuo, Kazue, Michiko and myself. Four close friends, with dreams of a future together. But after our college days, everything changed." Shiro said, darkly. "Now Kazue is no more, and those left behind have never spoken since."

This didn't make sense. He had no idea who Michiko was, let alone what happened to turn his father against Shiro. Toshiaki hated the Mathematics teacher more than anybody else in the entire school – but was there a reason for their bad blood?

"You're still to awaken yourself, but you have the same brilliant potential as your friend. Mathematics may forever elude you, but your Persona could help us shine a true light on this city, one that blots out the darkness spread by that wicked Mayor Ashikaga. And from there, anything is possible."

"Anything...?" Toshiaki asked, curious. "This Persona power...I want it. I don't want to be sitting here depending on anybody. Especially the most boring teacher Chieki has ever seen."

"...I'll allow that comment. Once." Shiro said, scowling.

"We'll do it!" Evelina said, hopeful. "We'll do what it takes to be useful to you, Rinaka. I promise."

"Fantastic!" Rinaka said, elated. "It's time you both went home, however. Toshiaki, we'll work on your awakening soon. You'll find a teleportation application on your Gnosis devices. It'll let you go back and forth between this world – but next time you come to the Theio Kosmos, it'll be in Keyaki Hills."

"Be patient, and you will be rewarded." Shiro said, smirking. "Even a dim boy like you can understand that much, right?"

"...I guess." Toshiaki said, barely able to contain his anger. Having to take orders from his teacher in both worlds was a bitter pill to shallow. At least one of their classmates would be their ally, and no doubt there were other Aeon Administrators that would be better company.

"Well then...have a safe journey home. And we'll be in touch soon. Not a word of this to anyone else. At all."

Evelina and Toshiaki, after some negotiating their phones, disappeared from the new world. Soon enough, however, ones who challenged their leaders would come forth.


	31. Zero Recollection

**|May 19th|Kansei High School – Mathematics|12:34 pm|**

"Well, class, we're finally approaching mid-terms." Mr. Horiguchi said, looking at his students. Quite a few students looked worried, but a certain duo looked rather eager at the thought of the upcoming test.

_Yes! I've been looking forward to our exams. My parents will be so proud when they see how far I'm come this year. From now on, I'm focusing everything into my school work. Just the way it should be!_

"Judging by the exuberant smile on your face, Nakahara, I'm guessing you're not worried at all. Neither is Teruya, of course. Of course, it's been proven that as overconfidence grows, we're prone to making mistakes. So let me test you out with this question."

Kei looked up to Shintaro, amused, as he stood up, tall and proud. He was one of the few students who liked being called up to answer a question, just like Kohaku. Yet recently, Kei had been doing quite well under pressure, and even Akari managed to keep her cool somewhat. The four of them sitting so close together seemed to be improving their academics.

"What do we call the lines connecting the foci in an ellipse?" Mr. Horiguchi asked.

Shintaro answered almost immediately. "The Major Axis!"

"Correct!" The teacher clapped, beaming. "Our mid-terms start next Monday. I'm sure you're all going to be just fine. Chieki's mid-terms are most likely next week as well. Let's hope we can keep up with our high standards, and beat them yet again!"

The class cheered, while Shintaro and Kohaku stared at each other awkwardly, thinking of their friends in the Mizuho school. They had been keeping a close watch on their senpai as much as possible, but found it harder and harder to actually encounter them during school hours. Hopefully, Evelina Solberg and Toshiaki Yukimora were out of harm's way.

**|Chieki Academy – Teacher's Lounge|15:56 pm|**

In Chieki Academy, the teacher's lounge was quite a well-furnished space, yet filled with countless notes their faculty made during their intensive teaching schedules. Waiting here was Shiro Koyanagi, having managed to finish his school duties earlier today.

He gazed at a photograph from his wallet. It was faded, but still clearly displayed four friends outside the front doors to Shinshuto City College. There he was, his hair darker and healthier looking, and with his old pair of glasses. When he saw the others standing next to him, his heart sank a little.

The soft, delicate Kaede, the one he looked forward to seeing every single day. It was the two of them at first – he had accidentally crashed into her when rushing to his first lecture, and spent most of it quitely apologising to her. But she bore no grudge, and soon started talking at length about all the things she loved.

" _Shiro-kun, you've apologised at least forty times since the professor started her lecture. Let's talk abut something else, okay? For example, what you're doing after school today. And most important, you do like cats, right? I won't be friends with any cat-haters..."_

Tetsuo, an occasionally arrogant, athletic, and outgoing man who tended to leave studying to the last minute. Shiro often held 'Tetsuo Salvation Sessions' where the purpose was to get him back up to speed. Those were always fun to him, especially when he got to see Kaede laugh out loud.

" _Why is it everyone else is good at revising except me? Shiro, you're a lifesaver. You're skinny and no good at sports, but you're a genius. Someday, I've got to return the favour. How about we try to get you weightlifting?"_

Michiko, easily the smartest of the four, and somewhat of a leader. No matter what was going on, she was able to rein in their worst tendencies and help the others work even harder. She was determined right from the start to be a teacher, having been inspired by a long line of relatives who had entered the teaching profession.

" _My parents taught Literature, my aunt taught Geography, my uncle taught History, and I've several cousins who teach P.E. So I've got to teach something else to stand out. I know, how about Biology? You've got your heart set on Mathematics, right?"_

"Everything's gone wrong since we graduated." Shiro said, sighing. "So it's up to me to make things right. Somehow, there's a world where all four of us are still here and happy."

Just then, the door opened. Asami had arrived, and she had been accompanied by two of her senpai. Except now, in the ranks of Bythos, she was their senior.

"Svante, Yukimora, welcome." Shiro said. "It's good to see you back on your feet as well, Hamasaki."

"It's...nothing. I'm fine now." Asami said flatly, gazing distantly out of the window.

Keiya had saved her from the wrath of the cold Morta. The other Aeon Admins didn't properly understand what had happened, but it did appear that she resembled the late Takumi Kokubun. Nisa Liat ordered the other Admins to tell her the Shadow had been destroyed, and it was a shape-shifter. Although Shiro wasn't so sure about this, he decided it was best to leave the Anomalies alone for now. Rinaka was still uncertain about keeping Decima in her Gnosis.

Not only that, Nona and Morta had been captured by their enemies. Unless they could all be released in the same location, it would be impossible to kill them outright. All Shiro could hope for was the Seal Evil app staying active. He had to worry about the two new recruits. Especially as one of them had still to awaken his Persona.

"I take it no one suspects anything?" Shiro asked.

"We should be in the clear." Asami said, with a look of annoyance on her face.

"Still can't believe you're in Bythos." Toshiaki said. "I mean, to think the fabled Hama-Sama not only goes to our school, but she's working with  _the_  Nisa Liat."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you should believe it. Especially as, technically, I'm one of your superiors. You need to be given the actual rank of Admin before you can be considered one of us."

"Settle down, Hamasaki." Shiro said, watching surprised as she sighed in disdain. "We're going to the Theio Kosmos for today. And I know just the place. We're going to Asakita's theme park."

"Why?" Evelina asked. "That place is so gaudy and tacky. And overpriced, the food there is terrible, there's so much pushing and shoving, it's old-fashioned, it's a monstrosity."

Shiro frowned. "If you want to leave a review, I'm sure there's no shortage of places online to post your feedback. We're going there to fight a Shadow. It's not an Anomaly like before, so don't worry. If something should go wrong, me and Asami can expertly dispatch it. Rinaka will be meeting us there, too, after she's done at Aramis."

"Rinaka's so strong. I wish I could be at her level." Evelina said, dreamily. "Then every Shadow would be too scared to fight me."

"Hey, you're one strong woman. Oh, and still one beautiful Swede, too." Toshiaki said.

"Enough of the stupid compliments! It's time to get going. Shiro, want me to do the honours?" Asami asked, impatiently taking out her Gnosis. He nodded, and the four of them disappeared. As they did so, a certain pair of twins walked down the corridor, peeking through all the windows they could.

"Great. No one's here." Natsumi said, frowning.

"This is annoying..." Masato frowned. "We can't get a moment alone with them any more."

"What do you think we should do now?" Natsumi asked.

"I don't know. Kei texted us earlier to say she was coming over after our club meetings." Masato grumbled. "And we don't have any good news to give her."

"Well, maybe no news is good news. Let's get going to our clubs already. Then we can think about what to do next."

The two of them left for their various clubs, hoping nothing untoward was going to happen.

**|After School – Library|16:00 pm|**

With the school day over, the group sans Kei arrived to the library to study. The Wild Card had decided to visit Masato and Natsumi to get an update, so she left the others to it. Kohaku grabbed a table with six chairs, and the team got their materials ready. Akari grimaced at the amount of notes Shintaro had made in his spare time, while he just smiled at his extra work.

Also joining them was Suzu, a slim girl with curly purple hair, who was quite popular with her class, especially her singing voice. She was never seen without her favourite rainbow school bag. A more stubborn girl than Akari, she insisted she joined the study session, having wanted to hang out with Akari's friends.

"With the amount of work you've put into this, I'm surprised they didn't just have you teach instead of Horiguchi-sensei." Suzu said, amazed. "No one in my class is  _this_  into maths."

"This is just how Shintaro-kun is." Kohaku said, cheerily. "Even when we first met, he always wanted to be one step ahead of the class."

"I'm dreading this test. Ugh, I hate maths!" Akari whined, reaching of her pink pencils out of her fluffy white pencil case.

"Relax. We're going to help you exceed." Kohaku said, smiling. "I'm sure we'll get you to a passing grade yet."

"Have you ever  _not_  had a passing grade?" Suzu asked, smirking.

"There was that one time I flunked a Geography test." Shintaro said, shuddering. "Not my finest hour."

"But that was when things were really bad in junior high. Both our grades suffered a lot during that time." Kohaku said, wincing at the thought. "Things are so much better now. Now then, let's cover last week's material. MacKenzei-sensei gave us some difficult homework, so we should go over that again."

While they worked through some material, such as Geography, English, Social Studies and Literature, Akari looked up, surprised. Noburo had shown up, and every eye in the room was soon upon him.

"Hey, that's..." Suzu said awkwardly.

"Noburo-kun!" Shintaro called.

"Oh, hey!" The boy came over, next to Kohaku. "I should have known you'd be here. Mid-terms are coming up. Not that you and Shintaro need an excuse to study." He said, chuckling lightly.

"Are you going to be okay?" The music-lover asked. "Surely the school would understand if you -"

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm not going to skip taking the test. Besides, if I lose myself in my studies, I'll have less time to think about...you know."

Shintaro nodded. "Well, we're going over Mathematics today. Akari's weakest subject."

"That's great, tell everyone." Akari said, glowering at him.

"Makes a change from you blabbing my secrets." Suzu said, sticking her tongue out.

"Once! Okay, twice. Um...thrice?" Akari said, blushing.

"I'm not the best mathematician either. Not exactly a skill that comes in handy, treading the boards." Noburo said, smiling. "Mind if I join you guys?"

"No, of course not!" Suzu said, smiling coyly at him. Like a lot of other girls at Kansei, she had quickly become drawn to his good looks. "Shintaro here probably has his notes from last year."

"I certainly do!" He said.

"...I was joking, you know." Suzu said, while Noburo smirked.

The study session soon came to a close, and the group left. As they walked outside, they saw Michiko, looking deeply at the Gnosis in her hand. Everyone – except Suzu was surprised to see it.

"Hi Suzuki-sensei!" Akari said, warmly.

"O-Oh! It's you all..." The teacher hurriedly shoved the photograph in her pocket, sheepishly. "I hope you're all prepared for the mid-terms. They won't be easy."

"Good." Shintaro said, smug. "If they were, they'd be a waste of my time."

She chuckled, but gave him a proud smile. "I've never been worried about your academic performance. I just hope you're focused on everything that truly matters."

"Oh, I am, Suzuki-sensei. I'll pass the entrance exams for Tokyo University, I promise!" Shintaro said, happily. "With a little help from you and the other teachers here, of course."

"We're certainly luckier than Chieki. They get that nasty Koyanagi." Kohaku said.

Michiko froze, shocked. "Shiro Koyanagi...?"

"Yeah. Our friends at Chieki hate his guts. He teaches Mathematics, but he's awful. Talks down to all his students as if they're dirt compared to him." Akari continued. "I mean, he's not giving them detention with a blood quill or anything like that, but -"

"I see. Interesting. W-Well, I need to go. I'll see you all in class tomorrow. Enjoy your studying!" She hurriedly left, anxiously.

"Tokyo, huh...?" Kohaku asked. "You really do aim high."

"So do you. I saw you reading up on their campuses during lunch." Shintaro said.

"Both of you going to the same university? You two really do everything together, don't you?" Suzu teased.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kohaku said, without a hint of embarrassment.

Akari giggled. "Well, Suzu and I better get going. We're both working at the mall after school now!"

"Yeah. But I'm at the food court. Lame...no cute guys there at all." Suzu said, rolling her eyes. "Too bad they already got someone to replace that gorgeous hunk you told me about. Kaii, right?"

"Uh...umm...hehe..." Akari mumbled, blushing. She couldn't help but smile, thinking about him, but at the same time she looked embarrassed than she had ever been. "Yeah. He's doing okay. Out of hospital and walking." The two of them left hurriedly, chatting loudly among themselves.

"Those two seem like an odd couple. Anyway, what about you guys?" Noburo asked. "There was a movie at the Oracle Cinema I wanted to see. It's an old one, but those are the best kind."

Shintaro smirked. That was his stance on books. Well, most books. Now that he knew Celestine quite well, he had a greater appreciation for the sheer effort she put into  _Leanne Rouge._ Speaking of Celestine, he had remembered a prior commitment he had arranged yesterday evening, during a secret phone call. He had been extra careful not to be heard by his parents, and it seemed like they were none the wiser.

"I...I actually have plans." Shintaro said, sheepish. "I'm meeting Celestine again."

"Oh...really?" Noburo said, disappointed. "...Where are you two meeting?"

"Um...this new...um...Korean restaurant in Tarumi?" Shintaro offered, biting his lip.

Kohaku sighing, shaking her head. "You only do that when you're lying, Shintaro-kun. Why don't you admit it already? I can see it all over your face. You and Celestine are -"

"Ssh!" Shintaro said, flustered. "I...I can't tell anyone. I wasn't even supposed to tell you guys! If word got out, it could get both of us in real trouble. I can't let anything happen to her career because of me..."

"Relax. You can trust us, you know." Noburo said, a little glum looking. "I'm just glad you two are happy. Just be careful, okay?"

"I...I will, Noburo-kun." Shintaro said. "I need to get going. I better change clothes first. Going near her apartment in my school uniform will look really sketchy."

He hurriedly left, leaving Kohaku and Noburo bemused.

"You really think things will work out? He did say he likes older women, but to actually go out with one?" Noburo asked. "Still, if it makes him happy, I guess that's all that's important."

"Yeah..." Kohaku said, albeit she seemed hesitant. "Oh! I'm free now. What's this 'old' film you wanted to see?"

"Citizen Kane. Doesn't get any better than that, does it?" Noburo asked, however he started to look embarrassed. "Well, depends on whether you like old movies or not, but -"

"I've never seen any 'old' movies. I'd love to see that one, though. Count me in!" Kohaku said, happily. "Let's go!"

Noburo stood there for a moment, surprised, but then his expression turned to joy. "Okay. We've got a bit of time until it starts, so I'll show you the scenic walk."

They soon set off on their way, leaving behind the school. Kohaku almost was looking forward to the walk more than the movie. Yet she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in the Theio Kosmos. Was the stray Parcae still on the rampage? Or was something else afoot?

**|Asakita – Eien Kofuku Theme Park|16:10 pm|**

When they arrived, the two Chieki seniors gasped. The entire place had transformed from a large theme park to a whole new world. The Ferris Wheel was actually floating, and twice the size it normally was. There was a roller-coaster that seemed to cover the entire Ginumi district. The outskirts of the theme park looked more like a giant green lush meadow, with rolling hills and a bright cartoon-like sun shining down.

"Bizarre." Evelina said, befuddled.

"Isn't it?" Shiro asked. "The Theio Kosmos responds to the feelings of those who live in the real world. While you may loathe this place in reality, many others love it, especially children. To them, it really is a whole other world."

Just then, they heard the sound of a vehicle revving its engine, and a bright light was zooming quickly towards them.

"Whoa!" Toshiaki said, running to the side.

In moments, a motorcycle came hurtling through the archway towards the group, and braked abruptly. Rinaka got off, and clicked her fingers. The behemoth she rode was black, sleek, yet seemed to be quite robustly built.

"Wow!" Evelina cheered. "I didn't even know you had such a cool ride!

"It only can exist in this world. After all, it was made out of the material that can only exist here. We manufactured it in the Citadel. I've called it the Shadow Hunter X99. The number reflects the amount of times it took to perfect the vehicle to my standards." Rinaka explained.

"Did you really have to come here on that bike?" Asami asked. "You could have just teleported here like the rest of us..."

"I was tasked with some reconnaissance, remember? The X99 can go all over the city at top speeds, and Breksta can use her powers alongside it. Investigating Ginumi would have taken far longer otherwise."

"I want one too! How long until we get those?!" Toshiaki asked.

"Settle down, Yukimora. Rinaka had hers custom made. If you want a similar vehicle, you'll need to prove yourself. And today will be a perfect opportunity for you to do so." Shiro said.

"You're a lot nicer to him here than you are in class..." Asami asked.

"He has more potential as a Persona user than as a mathematician. That's why." Shiro said, taking a moment to clean his glasses. Asami rolled her eyes. "Let's get back on topic. Our Shadow has holed itself up inside the Mirror Maze Madness attraction. His name is Futotama, a Japanese god."

"Huh..." Toshiaki said.

"He's a powerful Shadow, even if he isn't an Anomaly. However, if faced with a powerful foe, your potential may finally awaken. Being around weaker Shadows hasn't managed it so far." Shiro said. "Fear not. Should something go awry, you have three experienced Aeon Administrators to aid you."

"Me too." Evelina said, smiling at her friend. "You'll do fine."

"Okay..."

They passed many different rides and attractions, and as they approached the giant square-shaped structure, they heard a goofy maniacal laugh. High above the ground, several fireworks exploded, creating the shapes of evil-looking clowns. The very air around this building seemed to be growing unstable.

**|Mirror Maze Menagerie|16:15 pm|**

Appropriately enough, the place was a maze, the walls lined with mirrors. Yet when Toshiaki looked at the mirror, while he saw his own reflection just fine, he could see the Personas of the others in theirs. Kaihime, Breksta, Mergen and Aoife. What form his would take, he still didn't know, but he hoped it was something just as impressive.

The lurid lights above seemed to be floating up in the sky, and the ceiling seemed bewitched to look like an array of shooting stars. The floor seemed to be perfectly clear water, with no solid ground beneath. Yet the group seemed able to walk along it perfectly well.

"This place is quite unsettling..." Evelina commented, uneasy as she pressed on. 53

"Most places in the Theio Kosmos do appear quite supernatural compared to their real life counterparts. This attraction was rather bizarre even in the real world, but here, it can truly be as mad as possible. We're almost to the source of the madness..."

The team finally reached the centre of the maze. There, gazing into a large mirror with white tassles, was the Shinto god Futotama, or at least a Shadow with his name and face. He had a red blindfold on with holes cut out for the eyes, and black robes. Two orbs were constantly twirling around him in perfect synchronization.

" **...Humans. Why do you continue to obsess over this world? Are you not content with poisoning your miserable Akartharto Kosmos?** " He said.

"Nice to meet you too, dickhead." Toshiaki replied. "I'm surprised that dumb mirror hasn't cracked from having to reflect your ugly face."

"Don't provoke him so recklessly, you fool!" Shiro chided.

"We don't have to explain ourselves to you." Rinaka said, ignoring her colleague's word of caution. "As Persona users, we're the rightful rulers of this world. And you're just a by-product of our psyche."

" **Disgusting, arrogant, and misguided, all of you!** " Futotama said, shaking his head in despair. " **I feel sorry for the children in your care. Especially the child with the infected data terminal.** "

_Data terminal? What the heck is he talking about? Wait, does he mean the Gnosis?_

"Infected?!" Shiro shouted. "...No!"

" **I'm astonished you rightful rulers couldn't figure it out for yourselves. Why is it that he is the only one of your group yet to awaken? What is it that inhibits him so? Simple. Something quite sinister lurks within, waiting for a chance to absorb his soul.** " Futotama said. " **...And I intend to** **give it a helping hand.** "

"No!" Asami screamed. "Toshiaki! Give your Gnosis to one of us -"

Before he could reply, Toshiaki doubled over with pain. His Gnosis was sparking with demonic red electricity, and the screen became fully glitched. Something inside was invading his head, and he could barely keep his eyes open from the sheer pain.

"Argh!" He yelled.

"Toshi!" Evelina screamed. "Drop the Gnosis! Now!"

"I can't...I can't let go of it...!" Toshiaki yelled. Indeed, the phone felt as if it was glued to his hand. He couldn't fight this sensation. Something was alive in his phone, and it was drawing upon his life essence.

" **Well done, child. Now, let the** **wonderful** **EX-NIHILO take over your very being. It will show the rest of you who truly deserve this world. Us,** **we** **Shadows!** "

Toshiaki screamed in absolute agony, as a truly terrifying being appeared in front of the Japanese god. Futotama smirked, as the ghostly sword-wielding Shadow stepped forward.

" **Initializing. Host 'Toshiaki Yukimora' full of potential. Plentiful energy to maintain form. Beginning BATTLE 04 procedure. Annihilation of Shadow subject must be fulfilled.** **"**

"Guys! Help! Something's inside of me...it hurts!" Toshiaki yelled. The vision in front of him grew hazy, and everything turned to darkness. The sounds around him grew louder and louder, until there was a huge sound of an explosion. Then, everything changed.

**|Pleroma|**

Toshiaki was floating in a purplish realm, with countless human-like shapes floating by. He tried to reach out to touch them, but his body was in far too much pain. However, he saw someone right ahead. A dark-haired girl, in a black and red dress. Towering in front of her was a hazy dark shape, that had a vivid red aurora surrounding it.

"It's finally ready!" The girl said, with a wicked smile. Her voice seemed to resound throughout the entire area, and Toshiaki shiverred. She leapt up, and her hair seemed to be swayed by wind. "Wake up! For you are my first creation."

" **Initializing.** **Physical condition: 100%. Able to use all five senses in the same manner of a human being.** " The being said. The aurora finally cleared, and the being took shape. It was the same monster that had taken over Toshiaki's Gnosis. " **Creator sensed in front of me. Recognising voice and face as creator's.** "

"Yes, that's exactly right. From now on, you will obey my every wish. You will cut down all those who get in my way. The time has come for me to finally take the Theio Kosmos for myself!" The teenage girl said, elated. "You understand your combat parameters, yes?"

" **Affirmative.** **Each BATTLE** **sequence** **will comprise of innate energy and power derived from the chosen host**."EX-NIHILO said." **Strategies will be dependent on who the host is. Each battle will increase combat ability, via perpetual learning**."

"Well done!" The girl said. "Now, we need to give you a name. Let's see. Born from the power of nothingness... I shall deem you EX-NIHILO. I hope you don't have any complaints."

" **EX-NIHILO. Name of self registered permanently.** " The being said, saluting. " **Master. Awaiting orders.** "

The girl smiled. "I like your attitude. Let's see. My name is Nisa Liat. The Pleroma Princess. Do you think you can remember that?"

" **Nisa Liat. Name of master registered permanently.** " EX-NIHILO responded. " **We must go after the murderer. Make him suffer for all eternity.** "

Nisa Liat laughed out loud, hurting Toshiaki's ears – which was compounded by the massive pain his entire body felt.

"Yes! The entire time I constructed you from that fragment, I had his fate prepared. Our second experiment. You must aid me in bringing him to justice." Nisa Liat said. "Follow my every instruction, EX-NIHILO. I assure you, the powers you possess will be most useful."

The Vision changed again, to what looked like a grey and dark blue room...

**|Dimly Lit House|**

"...Who are you?! I'm calling the police!"

Toshiaki gasped. He was in Shiro's home, a sparsely decorated place with dark blue walls and dark hardwood floors. There were a few plants for ornamentation, but very little else, apart from a dusty looking television. Koyanagi was there, but standing there in the doorway was Nisa Liat herself, with a slight smile. She curtsied, giggling, and stepped forward, not even remotely afraid.

"Please stay calm, Shiro Koyanagi. I've been waiting for a good moment for us to speak alone, and here we are. You can call me Nisa Liat."

"Nisa Liat...?" Shiro said, confused. "And how did you get inside my home?"

"Truth is, Shiro-san, we're not actually in the real world any more. Here, take this."

She clicked her fingers, and a Gnosis appear floating in front of her. It then drifted closer towards Shiro, who slowly reached for it. He clutched it tightly in his hand, and gazed at the screen, somewhat transfixed by its glow.

"You're no doubt confused as to what this smartphone is. And of course, who I am." Nisa Liat said, her voice coated with a strange sweetness. "This is called a Gnosis. After the Greek word for knowledge. This will grant you much more than that, however. The power to reshape reality itself is within it. Follow me."

Suddenly, everything moved forward at a lightning pace. They had ventured outside of the house onto the streets of Mizuho, just outside Kita Crossing. He saw his teacher yell in horror at a Shadow – a Purple Mirror – that was advancing towards him.

Then, he saw Mergen emerge, for what must have been the first time. With its sword, it stabbed through the mirror-like Shadow, its shards of glass dispersing into wisps of darkness.

Toshiaki, through the pain, managed to make out something. He wasn't in his own body. He was in the EX-NIHILO's body. Only Nisa Liat seemed aware he was there. Or was this the past? He couldn't tell at all anymore. All he wanted was the pain to end, so he could be back home.

Finally, the vision changed back to Shiro's home, and he was sat on his armchair, looking exhausted.

"This is...unlike anything I've ever experienced before." Shiro said. "To think I had a supernatural ability. This Persona power. Are we the only ones to use it?"

"No, Shiro. However, it is true that the power of Persona is exceptionally rare. It's taken me a very long time to find anyone suitable. The others I've met so far were just as shocked as you are right now." Nisa Liat said, sitting on the chair opposite. "My power is quite similar to yours. Except, I'm not limited to the one Persona. I can summon a great deal more. Not only that, I have the means to create new ones by merging two or more together."

"You...certainly have an aura of omnipotence." Shiro said, somewhat wary of his guest.

"I'm hardly a god. Once upon the time, I was but a normal child, living a sheltered, privileged life, having to deal with an overbearing mother. Then one day, everything changed. Rage overwhelmed me..." She drank from a cup of green tea, and smirked. "But that rage gave way to enlightenment. My true power was awakened. The old me is truly dead, Shiro. But I'm not content with reviving myself. No, what I seek is the rejuvenation of this rotten city."

_This is the first time I've truly seen Nisa Liat. She never seems to have time to meet me and Evelina. I wonder who she is in the real world..._

"What are you saying? You're going to use this power of Persona to change Shinshuto? How?" Shiro asked, intrigued.

"The two Kosmos constantly influence each other in subtle ways. With Bythos, we can sway the public to our side. Eventually, when the whole city is begging for us as salvation, we can fully unlock the six keys to altering reality to our heart's content." Nisa Liat said. "And in your case, we can undo your downfall. You and Kaede can finally be together again, the way you should have been."

Toshiaki gasped. What did she just say? His mother with Shiro? No, he thought. That simply was impossible. She could never have loved anyone else but his father. Yet Shiro's face seemed to suggest otherwise.

"You know of Kaede…?!" Shiro finally said, numb. "Do you truly know all of my past…?"

"I wouldn't have arrived if I didn't." Nisa Liat said. "My powers give me a very good sense of others' inner turmoil. And you, Shiro, are troubled by melancholic thoughts. Every time you see Shinshuto City College, your mind goes back to the days you studied with your cherished friends. Life seems to exist to give one bliss, only to take all away and leave us with nothing. Sad, isn't it? If I may say so, you don't deserve such a fate. You should be faced with happiness, not this unyielding depression."

"Kaede, it's...been so long. Worst part is...I...I have to teach her son." Shiro said. "Toshiaki. He hasn't a clue about anything...he was quite young back then. His father will have made sure he won't remember me. That boy has no clue how much I wished he was never born. Because..."

Nisa Liat nodded, seemingly understanding what her new acquaintance was saying. Toshiaki desperately wanted to scream, to demand answers. Just what was Shiro's relationship with his late mother? And why hadn't Tetsuo ever mentioned that he knew his most hated teacher? He had complained loudly about him many a time, but his father never spoke of ever going to college with Koyanagi-sensei.

"You wish she had never been pushed into marrying him by her family. All because they thought his family was better off. That, precisely, is what I wish to change. Not just your own reality, of course. I wish to save all the others who will become your comrades. The Aeon Administrators will be the select few I know I can trust to help me fulfil my dream."

"Your dream? What exactly is your story? You already know mine, and clearly quite intimately." Shiro asked, and his eyes seemed to be watering. "It's been over ten years since I've talked about Kaede to anyone..."

"Shiro." Nisa Liat said, no longer smiling. "I need to be quite clear about this. The person I once was is dead. I can never return to the girl I once was. My life was stolen from me before it could ever truly begin! With my power, I destroyed that crazed man's very being, both body and soul. But it's  _not_  enough. No. It'll  _never_  be enough. Not until this entire city changes to my ideal world!"

"...Fine. Then from today forth, I accept. I will be your Aeon Administrator, for as long as you need my powers." Shiro said. He held out his left hand, which Nisa Liat shook eagerly. "The children I have to teach are hopeless. They need something far greater than even my tutelage. And finally, I have the answer right in front of me."

Nisa Liat stood up from her chair, smiling. "I must return to oversee construction of what will become our base of operations. For now, rest, and stay hopeful. The life you hoped for may become real. Those who get in our way will be obliterated."

The vision ended, and once again, Toshiaki found himself being whisked away, still stuck in the EX-NIHILO's body.

**|Pleroma – Unknown Facility|**

He seemed to be in an unknown void, of bizarre lights, with strange human-like shapes flying in the distance. Then, everything changed yet again, as he glided towards what seemed to be the flat circular roof of a gigantic white stone tower. There were several glowing blue pathways that seemed to be infinite in length.

_What the hell is this? Is this the afterlife? What am I seeing?_

As his feet touched the roof, five shadowy humans walked towards him. Their faces were blurry, but he saw two of them leading the way, with the other three close behind. The woman in front had a long white lab coat on, and long black hair. Next to her was a man in an immaculate black and red shirt, with matching trousers and shoes. There was a woman in the back with long red curly hair, a young man with vivid purple hair, and an older man with ginger hair and a bushy beard.

Toshiaki tried to yell out to them, but for whatever reason, he could not. His mouth didn't move, nor did any other part of his body. Again, he noticed he was somehow in the EX-NIHILO's body.

"As I'm sure you're all aware, I'm extremely frustrated with our current stroke of bad luck. This is the fortieth attempt." The bearded man said, sounding quite frustrated. "With all our failures, we've produced nothing. How appropriate, considering what the original was called."

"Aye. We've yet to achieve anything, other than it staring blankly at us." The curly haired woman said, tapping her feet. "This is really daft now. Why is it so important we bring back this creature?"

"Oh come off it, you know exactly why we're doing this." The blue haired man said. "It's crucial that we get everything exactly right. Including this ugly thing."

"Darling..." The black haired man said, to the woman to his left. "We can't disappoint her again. We  _have_  to get this right. Failure simply isn't an option any more."

"Ugh! I know that, alright?! We're experimenting with supernatural energy, after all. It's only natural we'd struggled to fully harness it to its full potential." The woman said, holding up her hand – apparently demanding the silence of what appeared to be her colleagues. "But I truly believe we've recaptured the essence of the original this time. Now to test its power. I think I have exactly the specimen to suffer under its wrath! Everyone, watch carefully!"

The strange woman laughed slightly, as she retrieved a Gnosis from her shirt pocket. With the press of a button, a Shadow appeared. Toshiaki gasped – or at least, he tried to. It was none other than Futotama.

_You! That bastard Shadow. Is this your idea?_

"Everyone, be sure to collect as much data as possible. We want to prove that the resurrection of the EX-NIHILO was a complete success."

Without being able to control himself, Toshiaki – or rather, the EX-NIHILO – lunged forward with his sword. The Shadow tried feebly to retaliate with ice magic, but no Bufula seemed enough to deter the dark blade.

" **...** **Not again!** " Futotama yelled. " **Even after my life is restored, you intend to dismember me once more? I won't allow that! You humans may have spawned us, but we are the ones who live here, not you! Die!** "

Within seconds, the Shadow was slashed apart, each sword swing drawing massive amounts of 'blood'. Futotama grimaced as his body bled dark blood, barely able to remain in one piece. There were shocked gasps from the five strangers watching dilligently. As the Shinto god collapsed, gazing in horror at the pool of blood on the ground, the mysterious EX-NIHILO unleashed a strange assault, of what appeared to be magic energy. Whatever the phenomenon was, it vaporized the Shadow entirely, leaving his mirror floating down to the ground.

"Fantastic! Just...fantastic! Such power!" The dark haired woman said, clapping. The three behind her gave her odd looks and backed away, but her partner to her side remained still, barely reacting at all to her exuberance. "We'll send him to the Theio Kosmos as soon as we have approval! This is a great day for all of us. Next on the agenda, I believe, is our next attempt with -"

**|Mirror Madness Menagerie|16:40 pm|**

"Toshiaki!"

The boy finally woke up, still in agonising pain. He was finally in his own body again, no longer trapped in the demonic Shadow he now knew as the EX-NIHILO. There was no sign of Futotama, however, he saw a mirror slowly fall to the ground, shattering into millions of pieces.

"H-Huh?!" Toshiaki yelled. The others were spread out over the area, with their weapons drawn. They looked weary, most likely from fighting two fierce Shadows at once. Yet one of them was still alive, and it was still standing in front of him.

Just as he saw it, he looked up at the creature. It was stealing his very life. And that he couldn't allow.

_I can't let it end like this. I've got to get to the bottom of those strange visions! And I must find out what happened between my parents and Koyanagi-sensei! Something, help me!_

The pain growing even more intense, he shut his eyes, praying that anything would save him. Maybe he would wake up in his own bed, completely free of any pain, and having completely imagined all of this as one elaborate nightmare. Especially the part about his mother and Shiro. That, in his eyes, was more of a night terror.

Once he closed his eyes, however, he saw a blue butterfly floating past. And then a man spoke to him in a firm, confident voice. Time seemed to stand still, with the hysterical Evelina and the advancing Aeon Admins.

**One who bears the burden of potential, heed my voice. My name is Philemon. Your existence will soon reveal its true complexity, yet this is nothing to fear. Once you truly know yourself, and why you continue to exist, life can begin anew, and you can wield your own identity as power. Answer me this question. What is your name?**

"Toshiaki...Yukimora..."

"What? Oh my god – is he talking to him?!" Asami yelled.

"It's Philemon!" Evelina cheered, her voice full of relief. "Toshiaki, you finally did it! Say it! You know..."

"Yeah!  **Persona**!"

He finally opened his eyes, and became surrounded by a giant whirlwind of blue light. It seemed to numb all the pain at once, and he felt a dark presence being forced out of his body at last. Not only that, something else arose, one far more benevolent and infinitely less despicable in nature than the disgusting parasite that had infected his Shadow.

The resulting being was quite the sight. While he was in a human form, with long flowing silver hair, bright green eyes and a metal headband that had details somewhat like a crown, he was wearing a heavy blue jacket with pockets full of various gadgets, the same sort Toshiaki would use when working with machines. His mouth was covered with a bright blue scarf, flapping in the wind.

Strangely, however, his heavy metal shoes were clinging magnetically to a large and fearsome flying craft, somewhat reminiscent of a helicopter. The rotor seemed to be made of ice , spinning rapidly and generating an icy mist over the streamlined, sleek machine. The 'cockpit' windows were opaque, and a solid turquoise. The aircraft was equipped with many machine guns, as well as a huge laser cannon.

" **I am thou. Thou art I. From thy sea of thy soul, I cometh. I art Conchobar, he who shall lead the way and achieve fame and peace!"**

The EX-NIHILO, having been exiled from its host, was rather worse for wear. It tried stabbing at Toshiaki, however it was shot in the face by Conchobar's multitude of bullets.

_What? He did it just as I was about to tell him to attack! If he's my Persona, then he and I should be in perfect sync! Then._

Toshiaki then gasped – in his right hand, he was now equipped with a glove, affixed with sharp claws. In his left, he now had a strange red grenade-like device. Angry, he pressed a button on the grenade, and hurled it with all his might at the Shadow's feet. It exploded, sending it flying in the sky.

"Toshiaki! That was great!" Evelina said. "You're finally a Persona user...now we can fight together! Like this. Aoife, come!"

The gun-toting Persona emerged, and with vehement rage, fired powerful Dual Shots at the Shadow in the face – leaving giant gaping holes where its 'eyes' would be.

"Not bad, Evelina-senpai. Kaihime, now!"

Asami quickly hurried and summoned her own Persona. With her Shockwave Spear, Kaihime struck the EX-NIHILO, causing it to scream in agony.

"Hurry, Breksta! We must destroy it!"

The curvaceous Persona launched a bullet, the brutal looking Perfect Murder. It landed straight in the Shadow's chest, causing quite the splutter of blood.

"I'll make this quick. Mergen!"

Shiro's Persona attacked with his sword, the Grim Launcher. All of these attacks had shaken the Shadow's will to fight, and it kneeled, supporting itself with its cracked sword.

"Yes! He's finally on the ropes!" Shiro said, eagerly. "Toshiaki! Now, you must destroy that Shadow before it has the chance to destroy you! Do not let it infect you ever again! Now!"

"Do it, Toshi!" Evelina called out. "Kill this monster! It'll never harm you again!"

"Conchobar! Show 'em what you got! Frost Flash!"

He had no idea where it came from, but he called out that name to his Persona. And it complied, giving its user a faithful nod. Within moments, icy wind was concentrated into the helicopter's guns, transformed into a bright ball of cold light. It was launched straight into the EX-NIHILO, creating a tremendous flash of light.

When the brightness faded, they saw what had once been a Shadow had now become a giant ice sculpture, cold mist surrounding it. Then, its limbs fell off, breaking into pieces, leaving the torso to shatter into countless shards of ice. The head followed suit, leaving the sword. Finally, all of the ice melted rapidly, leaving nothing but the memory of the demonic Shadow.

"...You did it!" Evelina said, hugging her friend tight. "I'm so proud of you. Now you can finally be a part of Bythos!"

"Um...yeah!" Toshiaki said. "I was worried I'd never have a Persona. But look what we have here. Conchobar, who can pilot a helicopter by standing right on top of it."

"It's certainly a unique Persona. Then again, that's what we'd expect." Rinaka said. "And with it's helicopter, you'll probably not be needing that motorcycle anymore."

"You should really get home for some rest." Shiro said, sternly. "We've achieve what we set out to do. Futotama is dead, and so is the EX-NIHILO."

Toshiaki blinked, still in shock. "What  _was_  that thing, Koyanagi-sensei?"

"In truth, we don't know for sure. Nisa Liat isn't particularly forthcoming with the details, but from what I could tell, it is a Shadow she created that ran amok. Thus, if it emerges, we must either recapture it, or destroy it."

_Just like that vision. The Princess created something like that, only for it to go on a rampage and possess people like me. I wonder how she feels about her experiment failing so badly. Although, I'm kinda pissed that I had that fucking creature try to take over my body and almost kill me._

"So it's gone for good, right? There's no way it could come back, after that." Evelina said. "I mean, it was torn to pieces!"

"Unfortunately..." Asami began. "The EX-NIHILO has a nasty habit of resurrecting itself. This is the fourth time, so far, that it's been killed. I think we're gonna see it come back. How long until then is the question."

Toshiaki shivered with fear. The thought of that demon coming back to possess him again was not a pleasant one. Shiro caught sight of his troubled expression, and shook his head.

"You needn't worry." Shiro said, sternly. "Once you have a Persona, you should be immune to any future attempts to infect your Gnosis and drain your soul. We'll be constantly vigilant for when it returns. If it does, we destroy it again. Some day, we'll find a way to get rid of it forever."

"You did well today. Don't think you'll be calling the shots, though. You haven't been given the title of Aeon Administrator yet." Asami said, crossing her arms.

Toshiaki glared at her. He had almost been killed, thanks to that failed experimental Shadow. And yet she still wanted to tout her seniority over him? For a second, he hated Asami more than he hated Toshiaki.

"Play nicely, children." Shiro said, rolling his eyes. "Yukimora, I hope you perform better as a Persona user than you do as a student. Otherwise, you might be the weakest Persona user we've ever had."

_They'd have to get rid of you first._

"We should depart soon. Futotama's absence may lead another Shadow to fill the void." Rinaka said.

"Fine. Then we shall return." Shiro said. "Everyone, until next time. One thing. Asami, are you sure there's anything you're not telling us?"

"...No." Asami said, although she was staring intently at Rinaka's Gnosis. "Unless there's something you're not telling  _me_."

There was an uncomfortable silence, until finally, Evelina took Toshiaki aside and teleported themselves back to Chieki Academy.

**|Chieki Academy|17:00 pm|**

The two of them were teleported straight in front of the tree, and yet no one around batted an eyelid. Toshiaki had been told that the teleportation function of the Gnosis distorted people's perceptions, and forced them to not notice their sudden appearance.

"Phew..." Evelina said. "No one saw us."

"I'm exhausted..." Toshiaki said, holding his head. He could still feel some discomfort, courtesy of the diabolical Shadow. "Having a Persona feels really strange..."

"I know." Evelina said. "Aoife is really getting strong, though. When that monster tried to take over your body, I freaked out. I was doing everything possible to get it away from you. Rinaka was yelling at me to stay calm, but how can I, when you were in danger?"

"It's okay now..." Shiro said, smiling. "I better not give Koyanagi-sensei any reason to hate me in two worlds, though. I'm gonna have to catch up. Conchobar is going to be the fastest Persona there ever was. Well, he is another me, so he'd have to be."

Evelina laughed, but was simply relieved to see her friend joking around. He hadn't lost any of his soul, thanks to that demon. Instead, he had become even stronger.

"Let's go home. We'll figure out what to do about Bythos tomorrow." Evelina said. "Asami was a little off, though. I wonder if there's internal discord between the Admins."

"She probably hates having him boss her around in both worlds. Guess we have more in common than I thought..." Toshiaki said.

_I still don't want to think about Shiro being with my mum. But if my visions were real, and weren't just me making stuff up in my head, then...no. My mother would never love Shiro. No one would! Right? It's time to go home, and forget about all this until tomorrow._

As they were about to walk past, they looked to their right, and saw two familiar students staring straight at them. Natsumi and Masato, and right next to them was a girl in a Kansei uniform with teal hair.

"H-Hey!" Evelina said awkwardly, waving. The two twins waved back, yet they didn't smile. Their unknown friend folded her arms, with a grim look, but didn't say anything.

"Well...see you later!" Toshiaki said, quickly leaving the school.

"Um..." Evelina seemed lost for words. "You don't think they suspect anything, do you? After all, they have been trying to follow us around school for a while..."

"You're worrying too much." Toshiaki said, smiling, yet he started to wonder as well. What had those twins seen? If they had noticed him teleport there, then they must be Persona users. But they weren't part of the roster of Bythos.

"...I hope you're right. Otherwise, we may end up as their enemies."

"...I can't believe it."

"Me either."

The twins stood their incredulous. Masato, still in his gym gear, was stunned, while Natsumi seemed on the verge of tears. Their favourite senpai had just teleported from another world - the Theio Kosmos – right in front of them. And they hadn't joined the Knowledge Seekers.

"Dammit! We were trying so hard to just talk to them. And now this! They've gone over to Bythos. This is a nightmare!" Masato said, groaning.

"What are we going to do?!" Natsumi yelled. "Toshiaki-senpai's so much smarter than that! He's kind...he's always trying to include others. H-He can't hang out with Bythos! It's bad enough Asami-chan had to join them! Now Toshiaki!"

"We don't have a choice. We have to tell everyone and be prepared for the worst. It might just come to fighting your senpai..." Kei said, firmly.

"Evelina and Toshiaki are going to be our enemies next time we see them. And they don't even know it yet." Masato gazed listlessly at the tree, as it swayed slightly in the wind. "This sucks…!"

Kei put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and another on Natsumi's. They turned to her, still full of worry.

"It's not over yet. We still have a chance to get all the Cognition Cores and put an end to Bythos. And we might not have to hurt your senpai to do it." Kei said, resolutely. "All of us, working together, we'll come up with something."

"You sound really sure of yourself, Kei-chan." Natsumi said, managing a smile.

"It's a Wild Card thing. Ever since I had the power to summon Ostara and all those other Personas, I've been feeling like I can make anything happen." Kei said. "Some things, though, you can't do alone."

"Yeah, I getcha. It's the team that wins." Masato said, grinning. "…I still don't want to end up fighting our own senpai. I never wanted to fight anyone, though. But at least I can count on you guys."

"Right!" Natsumi said. "I...I already got used to the idea of fighting Asami. And she was my best friend here until all this started. I...I can handle Evelina too."

"I'll let Shigeru and the others know. Now that we know who their new recruits are in advance, we might just have an edge." Kei said. "I'd better get back to the dorm. Take care."

With that, she hurriedly left, eager to catch her next bus. More uncertainty was ahead, and despite Kei's words, the twins were still full of doubt. What would become of Toshiaki and Evelina's newfound powers?

**|Kita Crossing – Hanei Market|17:40 pm|**

Club Kaleidoscope remained closed for repairs, but the Crossing was still thriving. Today, Michiko had arrived here after school to do some shopping before heading home, looking at various stores and acquiring some good meat and vegetables for tonight's dinner. As she walked towards the vibrant, neon-lit Hanei Market, an area filled with stalls selling both exotic and traditional goods, she thought deeply on what she had heard today.

_Shiro Koyanagi. I haven't heard that name for almost eleven years. I wonder if I'd recognise him anymore. He can't have forgotten what happened. The rest of us certainly haven't._

She browsed a flower stall called 'Kagome Flowers', run by a friendly brunette girl named Suzume. Today's offerings were a bright variety of white, yellow, and purple flowers. While making up her mind, the girl turned to the teacher and smiled.

"Hi! How can I help you today, miss?" Suzume asked politely. "Are you looking for anything in particular?

"These purple flowers over there look great. I'll take them." Michiko said, while her mind still lingered on that awful rainy day. She had purchased flowers before then, too. Every year since she had thought about buying more and risking a return to the same place, but she had never been able to find the courage.

"Thanks! They're grown by our family, for nearly fifty years. My great-grandmother got us into the florist business. Now, these roses over here..."

As she spoke, Michiko looked to her left, and gasped. Browsing a clothing stall was a man she had not seen for years. He had none of the optimism or confidence she had known him for any more. His hair had lost its lustre, and his skin was ruddy and wrinkled.

"...and despite what my sister thinks, snapdragons are beautiful too. Oh... Are you alright, miss?" Suzume asked, worried.

"W-What? Yes, I'm fine..." Michiko said. She hurriedly pointed to some pink tulips and purchased them as quickly as possible. Normally, she would have been happy to engage in chitchat with this enthusiastic young florist, but with Tetsuo Yukimora nearby, she wanted to attract as little attention as possible.

"Thank you very much! Please come again!" Suzume said waving. Michiko tried to rush past, but as she did, Tetsuo looked in her direction, and froze. She did as well, overcome by the sheer hatred he felt from his gaze.

_Time hasn't softened him at all, it seems. Has he never let go of his resentment until now? I have to get away from here, quickly. Michiko, calm down. He won't repeat what happened at the funeral here._

"Well, if it isn't Michiko Kozuka. You're still in Shinshuto after all this time?" He asked, speaking up.

"Y-Yes." Michiko said. "I wasn't expecting to find you here..."

"Me either. I came here purely on a whim, only to find you. The one who was too spineless to tell me that my wife was sleeping with my best friend."

Michiko's heart sank, as others began to stare. If this ended up like the meltdown at the funeral, she could end up in trouble at Kansei. She had to tread very carefully.

"Tetsuo..."

"Have you seen Shiro since?"

"Shiro? No...we haven't seen each other for eleven years. I...I haven't a clue what he's doing these days." Michiko said.

Tetsuo frowned. "That bastard is teaching at Chieki Academy. Clearly, you aren't there, or you'd know that much."

"I'm at Kansei, Tetsuo." Michiko said. "These days, I go by Suzuki-sensei."

"Married and a teacher...even after all you did?" Tetsuo asked, clenching his fists. "You make my skin crawl, Michiko. You knew about Shiro and Kaede for four years, and you all kept it a secret. Obviously, I was the least important friend of the group. The least intelligent, the one you always had to help stay ahead. You were all laughing behind my back..."

"It wasn't like that!"

"Then what was it like? Well? You're a teacher now! Break it down for me what it was like to keep such a horrible secret! That Kaede never even loved me in the first place..."

"I..." Michiko said, lost for words.

"Forget it. Kaede is gone. And you and Shiro get to go on as if nothing had ever happened. If you ever run into him, feel free to laugh about my life. Widowed, in a stressful job, trying to raise two sons...do you know how hard it is to talk to them about their mother?"

Michiko shook her head, tearfully. Suzume looked on, concerned, but said nothing.

"I'll tell you something else. My son is in Shiro's class! I have to sit there and listen while he complains about how useless a teacher 'Koyanagi-sensei' is! Just like all of your students, I bet!"

"Sir, please calm down! You're making a scene!" Suzume said, walking over.

"It's fine, I'm going. Michiko, I still don't want to see you again. Or Shiro, for that matter." He turned his back, but stayed still, and sighed. "It's really a shame. If you had just told me the minute you found out, maybe things could have worked out better. But we'll never know."

As he finally left the market, Michiko stood there in sadness. He seemed nothing like the young, charismatic graduate she knew from the past. The one that was keen to get into teaching right away. Yet all because of Shiro, the close unit of friends had permanently fractured.

_I can't blame Shiro for everything. After all, I kept quiet because I didn't want to see our group of friends break apart. Look at us now. I thought I was doing fine with both my career and my husband, but then I wound up becoming a Persona user._

Michiko sullenly left the Market, making sure she was not about to run into Tetsuo again. Shiro had been on her mind quite a bit, however. After eleven long years, he was in teaching like her. Yet he didn't appear to have any wonderful students like Shintaro or Kohaku lauding him with praise.

_Perhaps it's high time I talk to Shiro too. It's too late to repair my friendship with Tetsuo. Kaede is long gone. But Shiro is still here. If he's became such a horrid teacher, then perhaps I can help him become one our children will respect._

**|Kibo-Jo – Mayor's Office|**

Shigeru was invited to see Mayor Ashikaga in her office. When he walked in, he was startled somewhat by her angry expression.

"You took your time today, didn't you?" She said, tapping her desk impatiently.

"My apologies, Yoko." Shigeru said.

"...Sit." She ordered, and he quickly did so. There was a moment of silence, until she finally spoke. "You've not done anything with the Cognition Cores yet, have you?"

"No, we haven't. They may have irreversible effects if we use them." Shigeru said. As the Mayor frowned, he looked away. It was rare for him to be intimidated, but right now, her mood was darker than ever before.

"How do you know that for sure? What's the point of containing them in that strange girl's Gnosis if you won't utilise them? Especially with the latest news on Bythos." The mayor span around her laptop, showing the articles. Shigeru looked at the headlines, and gulped.

**ASAKITA STORES SELLING PRO-BYTHOS MERCHANDISE**

**HUNDREDS OF BUSINESSES SUPPORTING BYTHOS IN SECRET**

**BYTHOS FANSITES CRASHING DUE TO TRAFFIC**

"That  _is_  troubling, yes..." Shigeru said. "Even so, if Bythos don't get the Cores, they can't accomplish anything. We'll apprehend them all."

"Oh really? All you've done so far is capture two Anomaly Shadows. These Admins have continued to plague this city." The Mayor said. "With the Cores, it can be  _us_ that change the city. We can force the good people to open their eyes and realise that Bythos must be destroyed. Perhaps mistakes can be undone."

"Are you suggesting we alter reality itself?" Shigeru asked.

"I'm saying that if there's a chance that we can undo past tragedies, we should seize it." The Mayor said, standing up from her chair. "...You must ask this Kei to offer the Cognition Cores, Shigeru. We can use it to undo that poor Teruko girl's death. We can stop those teenagers from throwing their lot in with Bythos! And..."

"Do you mean...Noriko?" Shigeru asked.

"Yes! Exactly! This is an opportunity we simply cannot let pass." The Mayor, eyes burning with intensity slowly moved towards her door. "You should test its effects, Shigeru. If you are that concerned about the repercussions, test it on small, inconsequential things first. Once we're sure we know what we're doing, then we can use all of these Cores to their full potential. And my daughter will be alive, and at school, where she belongs."

She finally left, leaving her flustered friend behind, without even a farewell.

"...I can't risk these cores destroying our reality. We still only have two in our possession. Not to mention the Anomalies. What am I going to do?"

He left the office as well and began his long journey home. As he drove, he turned on the radio, listening to his favourite station. They were playing music by an enka singer, Misuzu Hiiragi, whose ex-husband had been involved with quite a major incident several years ago. Yet now Shigeru's fate was tied with the mysterious Cognition Cores.

He could only hope that they would not open Pandora's Box.


End file.
